The British Academy has held a conference on the importance of language development for inclusive education and well-being.
The ‘Mind the Gap’ conference, which took place in London, United Kingdom (England), at the end of March, aimed to raise awareness of the need for language support among policy-makers. It also marked the first anniversary of the ATLAS Leiden Manifesto: Think Language First, which calls for recognition of all types of language needs and support for all learners who need it throughout their education.
Speakers included experts on language and education from universities and health associations across the UK and beyond, and representatives from international organisations such as the Council of Europe and OECD. Sessions examined the role of the health sector in identifying language needs, the relationship between language development and educational fulfilment, and ways to improve the identification of language needs.
EASNIE Director João Costa presented during a panel session entitled ‘What needs to change?’, which explored international policies that have the potential to improve the identification of language needs and include all learners. In his presentation, he gave an overview of the challenges of implementing inclusive education systems and recommendations to overcome them. These recommendations include collecting and using data on inclusive education and cross-linking inclusive education with global issues, such as migration and technological advancements. He also described the need for integrated approaches to multilingualism and multiculturalism as classrooms become more diverse.
The British Academy website contains more information on the conference, including recordings of the conference sessions.