Year 9 Endangered Languages Week Taster Morning

Endangered Languages Week at SOAS

There are approximately 7,000 languages spoken on earth today and half of them are under threat from larger languages and are not being passed on to children. Through films, displays, discussions and workshops Endangered Languages Week 2011 looks at what is being done to document, archive and support endangered languages around the world.

The activities:

1. Endangered Languages Workshops

Through a workshop run by Endangered Languages academic experts, students will be introduced to some of the subfields of the study of language and have their awareness raised of language diversity and language endangerment, both in London and in the wider world.

After a short general introduction delivered by SOAS two lecturers, the students will break into small teams. In their teams, the students will take part in a series of hands-on mini-workshops, hosted by undergrad and postgrad students of linguistics at SOAS, in which they will solve problems or perform small tasks, such as writing their name in a different script, greeting someone in a different language, drawing a family tree of the languages spoken in their own families or completing a quiz on the languages of the world.

The two academics involved will be Dr Sophie Salffner and Dr Candide Simard; experts in their field, and members of the Languages of the Wider World Centre for Excellence, and the Endangered Languages Academic Programme at SOAS respectively.

This unique workshop will engage with students directly and actively to arouse their curiosity about language, using their own experience as a starting point.

2. Tour of SOAS

Students will be taken on a guided tour of the university by current SOAS students, visiting the Library, Student Union common room, and Brunei art gallery. This will be an opportunity for students to ask questions and learn about the experience of studying in higher education and to get a feel for a university environment.

The students

Your students should be in Year 9 and interested in one of the following subjects: languages, geography, history, economics, politics. Students will further develop their awareness of linguistic diversity and endangerment, raising their analytical, critical thinking, and team work skills as well as experiencing life on campus.

Priority should be given to those who would be the first generation in their family to attend University. This is a widening participation event and is intended to “fast forward the tape” and give students a first-class experience of study at University level.

Confirming places

This event is designed to accommodate 30 students. If you would like to bring a group of students to participate in this exciting event please contact me as soon as possible on either jb73@soas.ac.uk or 020 7898 4113.