‘What do we mean when we talk about language?’ Opening up Language Across the University

This paper describes a recent project set up by the language centre at a UK-based art and design institution around the topic of language at the university. In this context language is often seen as being ‘separate’ from course content but in reality, and drawing from both academic literacies and systemic functional linguistics, it can be viewed as ‘the essential condition of knowing, the process by which experience becomes knowledge’ (Halliday & Martin, 1993, p. 94). In other words, understanding more about language and how it works across the university and within different disciplines can help inform teaching and learning practices. Drawing on ideas about language teacher expertise (Fitzpatrick, Costley & Tavakoli, 2022), the project revolves around a series of talks on different aspects of language with the aim of providing colleagues across the university with an understanding of what language is and does. These colleagues may not always have an applied linguistics background and so may not always be aware of the concepts, ideas and methodologies that our field has to offer.