SOAS University of London

SOAS World Languages Institute

SpeakSOAS

SpeakSOAS is an exclusive app for SOAS students to find language exchange buddies within the university. Unlike other platforms where English and French seem to get all the attention, on SpeakSOAS you'll be able to find and offer exchanges in any of the languages taught at SOAS. So no matter whether you want to chat in Yorùbá, polish up your Korean for a job interview, or become proficient in London slang, this app will help you with that!

Please consult our Terms of Service and Data Policy.

UPDATE 27-09-2018: Due to an unexpected change in Google Play's data policy, the SpeakSOAS app has been temporarily taken down. We are working to update the app and to make sure that your personal information is protected.

Local language use and aid: An unchartered territory

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Our research combines linguistic and development expertise in the health sector, examining how research is conducted in the social sciences around health communication which is then the basis for interventions and policies. We are aiming to gain a broader understanding of the role of local languages in assessment and evaluation for interventions. The research aims at supporting the implementation of rigorous and ethically sound research practices to ensure that interventions are based on reliable assessments. Understanding the local language ecology and working within those parameters also ensure that the local knowledge and language is not devalorised. This also means that this sensitivity to local language ecologies, the domains of language use will be better maintained and broadened, resulting in real progress against language shift at the local level. In this way, linguists and development actors working today can help local communities thrive culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically.

This research project is being carried out in collaboration with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health and it is supported by the London International Development Centre.

SOAS We Talk

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Listen to SOAS' voices in 100 languages! SOAS We Talk is a student-run project celebrating 100 years of diversity at SOAS. Visit the SOAS We Talk website and navigate the map to hear the languages of our students, staff and alumni.

Multilingualism and language learning: Linguistic practices and attitudes of university students learning languages in Europe and beyond

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The focus of this research project is on the intersection between multilingualism, language learning and higher education. As universities play a key role in the preparation of the next generation of global citizens, it is important to examine students’ linguistic profiles, language attitudes and language learning experiences as well as to gauge their language learning needs to operate successfully in the linguistically diverse and complex environments created by globalisation.

The main sources of data collection include an online survey covering those questions followed by interviews/focus groups with a small sample of students across the various regions.

This research project forms part of a large–scale research initiative ‘Cross-Language Dynamics: Reshaping Community’, an AHRC-Funded OWRI Programme, based at the University of Manchester.

The Endangered Poetry Project

SOAS World Languages Institute is collaborating with Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library to collect and preserve verbal art and poetry in endangered languages. Via an international call-out, members of the public are invited to submit a their artwork in a language that is endangered or under threat.

Read our multilingual call for poems and spread the word across London and worldwide. Visit the Endangered Poetry Project's website to submit a poem and read more about this collaboration.

Upcoming trainings

  • Language Fest - SOAS World Languages Institute celebrates International Mother Language Day and the International Year of Indigenous Languages on 21 February 2019.
  • International Workshop on the Documentation of Endangered Languages and Cultures with special reference to Jharkhand - April 2019, organised by ELDP in collaboration with Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University
  • April - Workshop on Iranian languages in New York with Don Stilo organised with the Endangered Languages Alliance
  • 28 Aug - 4 September - ELDP grantee training in language documentation in London - A training course in the skills and principles of language documentation for recipients of grants from the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme. Read more information on the ELDP website.

Past projects and events