Independent Project in Modern Languages
What is LN115?
LN115 Independent Project in Modern Languages is a core module for first year School of Modern Languages and Cultures students studying single honours French, German, or Italian; it will soon become core for single honours Hispanic Studies, too. The module aims to develop students’ research skills, test their ability to produce material in a variety of formats used by academics, and introduce them to elements of academia such as public engagement and digital humanities. It is taught through weekly workshops, many led by experts from around the university, and relies heavily on students’ continuous engagement with the different projects worked on across the year.
Where’s the public engagement?
One of LN115’s three assignments is a public engagement project about language learning. Students are asked to design a public engagement event for a specified audience, based either on language learning, an element of culture from the language they study, or a combination thereof. They are not required to think about budgets (blue-sky thinking encouraged), but they must justify why the activity is appropriate for the chosen audience and why it might helpfully promote language learning, think about the kind of engagement it fosters, and develop ideas for measuring the success of the event. Alongside the design for the event, they produce a written commentary. To aid them with this work, students attend a workshop led by a WIE engagement officer and a workshop from SMLC colleagues experienced in public engagement: they see both the theory and the concepts behind engagement and real-life examples of how it looks.
During the two years I have run the module, we’ve had some fantastic ideas for language-themed public engagement, from cooking classes inspired by typical dishes from French overseas territories to an anime-themed interactive game for learning Japanese, from a virtual reality time travel through the history of Notre Dame to a series of film, wine-tasting, and conversation evenings for learning Italian. What’s always striking is how imaginative the students are and how sharply they target their chosen audience and identify ways in which to engage them. Many combine aspects of digital humanities into their design, alongside their knowledge of public engagement, their cultural knowledge of the country/language they’re studying, and their understanding of the challenges currently facing language learning in the UK.
How does this connect with the SMLC’s teaching more widely?
Many of the School’s modules incorporate creative assignments with a focus on engaging different audiences and producing material in formats other than the traditional academic essay. For instance, FR121 The Story of Modern France includes a ‘creative assignment’ where students use up to three texts studied on the module to produce resources for A-level students, designs for museum exhibitions, a TV documentary pitch, or an event for a twin town association. Similarly, FR245 In the Family Way requires students to react to the 17th century texts they study and reimagine elements of them in the modern day, for example how social media would influence the letter-writing of Madame Sévigné or how contemporary themes like cross-dressing could fit into a play by Corneille; it’s quite easy to imagine such reworkings generating interest among a wider public. LN311 Political Propaganda and Populism in Contemporary Europe, meanwhile, asks students to imagine themselves as social media influencers, producing a TikTok video or Instagram reel about populism using language and visuals that would engage followers. Not only a good intellectual challenge in terms of fashioning content in an innovative way, this is a task increasingly relevant in the workplace (as I know only too well, being the School’s social media overseer) and in terms of how we receive media and content.
Beyond these individual assignments within modules, the SMLC is launching for the 2026-27 academic year a new module, Policy, Outreach, and Public Engagement: Promoting Modern Languages, led by three colleagues with a vast experience of working with the public. Finally, our creative and public engagement assignments are an effective way to link our students into the world of digital humanities, in particular the amazing work being done in the Digital Arts and Humanities Lab. Last year, the SMLC had three winners in the DAHL Showcase, rewarding their innovative use the digital in their assignments.