Academics based in the Celtic nations will analyse the systems that support successful cultures of language-learning in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The Transforming Cultures of Language-Learning project involves researchers, from Cardiff University, the University of Stirling, Dublin City University and Queen's University Belfast.
It will build the most comprehensive overview to date of the factors that sustain healthy and diverse language-learning cultures. The research will examine learners' school experiences, the drivers influencing decisions to train as a language teacher, and the roles of employers, careers advisers and policymakers.
The team will also examine the impact of emerging technologies—including immersive virtual reality (IVR) and artificial intelligence (AI)—on learner motivation, confidence, and progression, assessing how these tools are reshaping language-learning experiences across both formal and informal settings.
Dr Daniel J. Finnegan of Cardiff University's School of Computer Science and Informatics said: "Today's technology presents near endless possibilities for positive interventions in language learning. We'll explore the state-of-the-art in AI and IVR technology to co-produce and evaluate a system that meets the needs of learners where they are and forging a path towards where they want to be."
Participation in formal language-learning has fallen dramatically in recent decades, with implications for international trade, diplomacy and social cohesion. Ireland, by contrast, has seen 84% of pupils studying an international language, and an 80% increase in language teacher numbers since 2012.
The project's findings will deliver evidence-based recommendations designed to revitalise language-learning cultures across the Celtic nations and provide practical benefits for learners, teachers, universities, employers, and policymakers.
Lucy Jenkins Project Director of the MFL Mentoring project, based at Cardiff University, said: "I am delighted that the experiences of a range of stakeholders across the language learning ecosystem in Wales will take a key place in this project.
"It is a timely moment to consider the factors that shape healthy language learning ecosystems and to amplify the significant value language learning adds to society."
Wales' bilingual context offers rich opportunity for the further development of multiple language learning across education levels, and we look forward to exploring this further through this project.
Project lead Professor Fiona Barclay of the University of Stirling said: "Language-learning is one of the key routes to developing the global perspective needed in our interconnected century. It fosters communication skills, intercultural competence, and confidence in navigating all kinds of different situations.
"This major grant is an important step in recognising the value of languages to society, by investing in research that will illuminate the factors that support healthy cultures of language-learning in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland."
