The European Commission have announced that the Juvenes Translatores competition will be taking place in 2008 for the second year running.
The 2008 Juvenes Translatores competition will be held on 27 November at secondary schools in each of the EU’s 27 Member States, and will be open to all pupils born in 1991. One winner from […]

The Herald reports that an £8m centre for Gaelic creative industries aimed at supplying talent and training to the new Gaelic digital channel is due to be opened by First Minister Alex Salmond on Skye today.
Fas - Gaelic for growth - is the latest addition to Skye’s Gaelic College, Sabhal Mor Ostaig, and will provide […]

A series of special units designed to boost Scotland’s links with China is to be opened in schools across the country. The Confucius Classrooms aim to give pupils lessons in Chinese language and culture.
They will also be used to organise trips to China and develop links with Chinese people living in Scotland. Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop has […]

The BBC reports that Cambridge University has dropped its requirement for applicants to have a language GCSE because too few pupils now take them.
Independent schools still tend to offer languages, despite them being no longer compulsory beyond the age of 14. However, only 17% of state primary schools offer them and less than half of […]

Gaelic’s effect on economic growth in Scotland is to be investigated by public agencies, reports the BBC website.
The study will look at how many organisations employ staff in posts where Gaelic is deemed to be an essential skill.
Meanwhile, Highland Council is to consider setting up a Gaelic translation unit.
The plan is to provide the authority […]

All pupils in Scotland should be given the chance to learn Chinese, a pioneer of teaching the subject has said.
Dr Judith McClure, headteacher of St George’s School in Edinburgh, which was among the first to offer the subject, said in the Scotsman that mastery of it was a key skill. Dr McClure, who is also […]

An influential group of experts is putting pressure on the Scottish Government to take urgent action to make Scotland more multilingual, the Herald reports.
Figures show that the number of school pupils taking modern language Highers has slumped by nearly 60% since the 1970s. The group has highlighted an ‘apartheid’ in foreign language study in Scottish […]

One quarter of UK companies (26%) have lost out on business because their staff cannot speak a foreign language, according to a new report released by Hodder Education last week. The independent research conducted by Gfk NOP reveals that insufficient language skills in the workplace has meant that 17% of companies have not been able […]

An article in last week’s Education Guardian highlighted a critical shortage of interpreters with English as a native language and a lack of skilled young linguists coming through to fill this role. The Guardian revealed that the average age of interpreters at international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union is now […]

A university department to promote Chinese culture and language and strengthen business links with Wales has officially opened, the BBC reports.
The Confucius Institute, named after the Chinese philosopher, is based at Cardiff University.
With 73 similar institutes in Europe, it is the second to be opened in Wales.
Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy said the institute was ‘hugely […]