Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies (MEITS)

理解使用多种语文的变革力量至关重要。超过一半的人类每天使用一种以上的语言，多语言为社区关系，商业和全球理解带来了好处。然而，随着英语日益成为弗兰卡，语言景观正在迅速变化。在英国，许多学校都是高度多语言的，尽管学习语言的人数下降，几乎五分之一的小学生的第一语言不是英语。区域（少数民族）语言（如爱尔兰语、苏格兰盖尔语）也是多语言联合王国不可或缺的组成部分。参加普通中等教育证书/A级语言考试的学生人数减少，英语作为第二语言的儿童人数减少，社区语言和少数民族语言的价值被低估，这一跨学科项目的目的是批判性地反思多语制，并通过加深理解转变态度。我们的方法是全面的，探索个人，社区和国家。我们分析了导致使用多种语文的情况，其社会影响和创造性的可能性，以及语言，文化，身份和标准之间的关系。我们探索为什么个人/社会选择（有意识或无意识）多语言，多语言作为“心理体操”的潜力，优化语言学习的方法，以及多语言对社区和国际关系的好处。我们的研究问题：1.多语个人与多语社会之间的关系是什么？在一个单语/多语社会中多语意味着什么？还是在多语言社会中的单语？2.多语言使用带来了哪些机遇和挑战？使用多种语文如何使个人受益、加强社区、丰富文化和促进社会凝聚力？使用多种语文在多大程度上会使个人处于不利地位、分裂社区、淡化文化或分裂社会？3.使用多种语文、多样性和特性之间的关系是什么？这在个人、地方、区域、国家和国际各级如何发挥作用？4.多语与语言学习之间的关系是什么？谁可以/应该学习其他语言，以及在什么情况下？年龄和其他因素如何影响动机、成就和幸福感？5.我们如何影响对使用多种语文的态度？我们如何改变个人和社会的态度，并为语言政策提供信息？6.我们如何重新激发现代语言研究的活力？我们能否通过扩大学科范围和发展新的跨学科方法来重振这一学科？交叉研究链（S1-6）为理解多语制提供了强有力的案例研究：全球化背景下的文学，电影和文化;标准语言的作用;语言身份，多样性和社会凝聚力;多语制身份对外语学习的影响;整个生命周期的语言学习;多语制的认知益处。该项目涵盖了英国传统或新研究的主要语言（法语，德语，普通话，西班牙语），欧洲的少数民族语言（加泰罗尼亚语，爱尔兰语，苏格兰盖尔语，乌克兰语）和社区语言（例如广东话，波兰语，旁遮普语）。我们寻求打破高/低地位和家庭/学习语言之间的障碍。该项目将对个人，教育，卫生和社会政策和实践以及国际关系产生变革性的成果。我们的合作伙伴（社区团体，教育，文化和政策机构，戏剧和创意写作团体，商业）将帮助塑造研究和传播成果。将语言主导的研究置于其核心，文学文化研究被整合到一个令人兴奋的新跨学科计划中，以展示现代语言如何应对我们这个时代的关键问题。

Understanding the transformative power of multilingualism is vital. Over half of mankind daily speaks more than one language, and multilingualism brings advantages for community relations, business, and global understanding. Yet the linguistic landscape is changing fast, with English increasingly the lingua franca. In the UK, many schools are highly multilingual, despite falling numbers learning languages, and almost 1 in 5 primary school pupils have a first language other than English. Equally integral to a multilingual UK are the regional (minoritized) languages (e.g. Irish, Scottish Gaelic). The decline in pupils taking language GCSEs/A-levels and the number of children with English as an additional language are often portrayed negatively, and the value of community and minoritized languages is underestimated.The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to reflect critically on multilingualism and to transform attitudes through greater understanding. Our approach is holistic, exploring individuals, communities and nations. We analyse the situations giving rise to multilingualism, its social implications and creative possibilities, and relationships between languages, cultures, identities and standards. We explore why individuals/societies choose (consciously or not) to be multilingual, the potential of multilingualism as 'mental gymnastics', ways to optimize language learning, and the benefits of multilingualism for community and international relations.Our research questions:1. What is the relationship between the multilingual individual and the multilingual society?What does it mean to be multilingual in a monolingual/multilingual society? Or monolingual in a multilingual society?2. What are the opportunities and challenges presented by multilingualism?How might multilingualism benefit individuals, enhance communities, enrich cultures and foster social cohesion? To what extent might multilingualism disadvantage individuals, divide communities, dilute culture or fragment societies?3. What is the relationship between multilingualism, diversity and identity?How does this play out at the individual, local, regional, national and international level?4. What is the relationship between multilingualism and language learning?Who can/should learn additional languages, and in what contexts? How do age and other factors affect motivation, achievement and well-being?5. How can we influence attitudes towards multilingualism?How can we change the attitudes of individuals and societies, and inform language policy?6. How can we re-energise Modern Languages research? Can we reinvigorate the discipline by broadening its scope and developing new interdisciplinary methodologies?Intersecting research strands (S1-6) offer powerful case studies for understanding multilingualism: literature, film and culture in a globalized context; the role of standard languages; linguistic identity, diversity and social cohesion; the influence of multilingual identity on foreign language learning; language learning across the lifespan; the cognitive benefits of multilingualism. The project spans major languages traditionally or newly studied in the UK (French, German, Mandarin, Spanish), minoritized languages in Europe (Catalan, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Ukrainian), and community languages (e.g. Cantonese, Polish, Punjabi). We seek to break down barriers between high/low status and home/learnt languages.The project will have transformative outcomes for individuals, for education, health and social policy and practice, and for international relations. Our partners (community groups, educational, cultural and policy bodies, drama and creative writing groups, business) will help shape the research and disseminate outcomes.Placing language-led research at its heart, literary-cultural studies are integrated into an exciting new interdisciplinary programme to show how Modern Languages can respond to key issues of our time.