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November 2012For immediate release

Language study boosted by British Council

A project led by Leeds Metropolitan University to understand the impact of

English language on learners wider lives has received financial backing

through the British Councils English Language Teaching Research Award

scheme.

The researchers, including Dr Naeema Hann and Dr Ivor Timmis at Leeds

Met, will investigate the impact of English Language on the learning and wider

lives of students of English as a second language in Leeds and Salford in the

UK as well as in China, Columbia and UAE.

Dr Hann commented: The impact that learning to speak English has on

peoples wider lives needs to be investigated research in this area is

normally tied to work and career but we are opening this up to find out what

difference it can make to peoples lives. We live in a globalised world where

English is the common language of business, commerce and transnational

families. Additionally, the majority of English speakers are non-native.

The team will use an innovative focus group technique and in-depth

interviews to compile results which will be published in September 2013. Dr

Hann added: The results will be used by the British Council to inform policy

worldwide. We are very curious ourselves to find out what impact learning

English has on peoples lives as all members of the team are bilingual and so

the impact for us has been huge in both our careers and personal lives.

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For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the Communications

team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email c.braithwaite@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors:

Leeds Metropolitan University has over 27,000 students and around

2,800 staff.

The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor

Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds.

Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and

Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and

Carnegie.

The Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) showed that

the proportion of Leeds Metropolitan 2010/11 graduates in work, further

study or both six months after leaving university was 91.87%.

Libraries and Learning Innovation at Leeds Metropolitan was awardedthe CSE standard for the tenth year running in 2012.

In 2012, Leeds Metropolitan was awarded a First in the People &

Planet Green League, a league table of environmentally friendly

universities, for the sixth consecutive year.