[lg policy] How the British military became a champion for language learning

Mon Jun 6 18:08:15 UTC 2016

 * How the British military became a champion for language learning *
June 6, 2016 9.44am EDT
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Author

   1. Wendy Ayres-Bennett
   <http://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-ayres-bennett-267691>

   Professor of French Philology and Linguistics, University of Cambridge

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funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this
article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic
appointment above.
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When an army deploys in a foreign country, there are clear advantages if
the soldiers are able to speak the local language or dialect. But what if
your recruits are no good at other languages? In the UK, where language
learning in schools and universities is facing a real crisis
<https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/language_trends_survey_2016_0.pdf>,
the British army began to see this as a serious problem.

In a new report on the value of languages
<http://www.publicpolicy.cam.ac.uk/pdf/value-of-languages>, my colleagues
and I showcased how a new language policy instituted last year within the
British Army, was triggered by a growing appreciation of the risks of
language shortages for national security.

Following the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military sought to
implement language skills training as a core competence. Speakers of other
languages are encouraged to take examinations to register their language
skills, whether they are language learners or speakers of heritage or
community languages.

The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Centre for Language and Culture
<http://www.da.mod.uk/Colleges-Business-Units/JSCSC/Defence-Centre-for-Languages-and-Culture>
also offers training to NATO standards across the four language skills –
listening, speaking, reading and writing. Core languages taught are Arabic,
Dari, Farsi, French, Russian, Spanish and English as a foreign language.
Cultural training that provides regional knowledge and cross-cultural
skills is still embryonic, but developing fast.
Cash incentives

There are two reasons why this is working. The change was directed by the
vice chief of the defence staff, and therefore had a high-level champion.
There are also financial incentives for army personnel to have their
linguistic skills recorded, ranging from £360 for a lower-level western
European language, to £11,700 for a high level, operationally vital
linguist. Currently any army officer must have a basic language skill to be
able to command a sub unit.
A British army sergeant visits a school in Helmand, Afghanistan. Defence
Images/flickr.com
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/defenceimages/6285972075/sizes/l>, CC BY-NC
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/>

We should not, of course, overstate the progress made. The numbers of
Ministry of Defence linguists for certain languages, including Arabic, are
still precariously low and, according to recent statistics
<http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-19/27331>,
there are no speakers of Ukrainian or Estonian classed at level three or
above in the armed forces. But, crucially, the organisational culture has
changed and languages are now viewed as an asset.
Too fragmented

The British military’s new approach is a good example of how an institution
can change the culture of the way it thinks about languages. It’s also
clear that language policy can no longer simply be a matter for the
Department for Education: champions for language both within and outside
government are vital for issues such as national security.

This is particularly important because of the fragmentation of language
learning policy within the UK government, despite an informal
cross-Whitehall language focus group.

Experience on the ground illustrates the value of cooperation when it comes
to security. For example, in January, the West Midlands Counter Terrorism
Unit urgently needed a speaker of a particular language dialect to assist
with translating communications in an ongoing investigation. The MOD was
approached and was able to source a speaker within another department.

There is a growing body of research
<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-costs-to-the-uk-of-language-deficiencies-as-a-barrier-to-uk-engagement-in-exporting>
demonstrating the cost to business <http://example.com/> of the UK’s lack
of language skills. Much less is known about their value to national
security, defence and diplomacy, conflict resolution and social cohesion.
Yet language skills have to be seen as an asset, and appreciation is needed
across government for their wider value to society and security.
http://theconversation.com/how-the-british-military-became-a-champion-for-language-learning-60000

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