Dr Lisa Shaw translates for The Guardian

Tags

Brazil, Portuguese, Public engagement, translation, zika

Dr Lisa Shaw, Reader in Portuguese and Brazilian studies in Modern Languages and Cultures, has seen her translation of an opinion piece published by The Guardian newspaper.

Dr Shaw has worked with Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum before, translating her work into English for wider consumption. Dr Shaw is currently based in Brazil, and is witnessing at first hand the public response to the spread of the zika virus.

The zika virus has attracted world-wide media attention, with cases attested across the Americas. The virus is associated with abnormal brain developments in foetuses, hence the particular concern amongst pregnant women.

There is definitely increased vigilance about preventing mosquito breeding grounds in homes, but many see the mobilization of soldiers last Saturday as more of a publicity stunt than anything else – Lisa Shaw

Blum’s article, translated by Dr Shaw, can be read here. Translation is one of the teaching strengths of Modern Languages and Cultures at Liverpool, and Dr Shaw is one of several colleagues who translate as part of their teaching and research activities.

Report on Innovative Language Teaching and Learning

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German, Language Learning, Language Teaching, Portuguese

Two of our language lecturers, Ana Reimão, (in Portuguese) and Hanna Magedera  (in German) attended the “Innoconf15” on ‘Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University’ hosted by the University of Nottingham on 19 June 2015. The workshop started on the train in Sheffield when they were joined by four delegates from the University of Newcastle. Professor Zoltán Dörnyei (Nottingham) set the tone with his keynote on ‘Motivation and the Vision of Knowing a Second Language’ which was followed by papers on innovative teaching methods throughout the day and also practical sessions on teaching with the Sanako software led by company staff, before the closing keynote by Dr. Jan Hardman on ‘Engaging and motivating students (and yourself) through dialogic pedagogy’.

Hanna Magedera also gave a well-received paper on “The fours skills news project as an example of communicative language learning for levels C1 and C2”, foregrounding digital learning and teaching skills, a project carried out with undergraduate German students. The conference was extremely well organised with postgraduate involvement and university catering providing an attractive and tasty near all-vegetarian lunch buffet.

http://innoconf2015.weebly.com/

The REF2014 results are in

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French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

The Department of Modern Languages and Cultures is delighted to announce that 72% of our publications have been classified as 4* (world-leading) and 3* (internationally excellent), while 90% of our environment submission has been rated 4* and 3*.

Research in Modern Languages and Cultures at Liverpool is characterised by our wide-ranging interests in the national and global dimensions of language-based study, including a focus on France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Latin America as well as other  Francophone, Hispanophone and Lusophone cultures and societies around the world.

Coherent cross-language themes structure our research. Our work places us at the cutting edge of fields such as colonial and post-colonial studies (including slavery studies), cyber-culture and digital transformations, and world cinema. Colleagues are fully engaged with the development of Modern Languages nationally, many playing leading roles in academic publishing, subject associations, and on behalf of major funding bodies.

Collaboration and engagement strongly underpin our activities, with researchers beyond our own department and disciplines, with our many cultural partners (especially Merseyside Museums) and in our interactions with non-academic communities. Distinctive public-oriented events include poetry readings with practitioners and audiences in Spain, a major exhibition in France in association with the multinational Tata Group, and a series of Holocaust-related events in the UK and Germany designed to enhance understandings of the sources and consequences of racism.

For more on the University of Liverpool REF2014 results, click here.