Launch of Born Global: Rethinking language policy for 21st Century Britain

Today the British Academy launched a new policy research project, ‘Born Global’, investigating the nature and extent of language needs in the labour market and the implications for languages education from school to higher education.

As a key project in the British Academy’s language programme, the research aims to develop a deeper understanding of how language is used in the workplace for different purposes, by employees of different levels of skill and accountability. It will explore employers’ expectations of language competence and investigate the reasons for their dissatisfaction with the current language capabilities of school and college leavers and university graduates.

The research will be structured in three phases, running from May 2013 to July 2015. The project will draw on the expertise of a high level Steering Group convened by the British Academy and an Advisory Board, including representatives from the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, the Employer and Education Task Force, and Fellows of the British Academy. The Steering Group will be Chaired by Richard Hardie, non-executive Chair of UBS Ltd.