Language, identity, belonging: Raising aspirations in heritage language students

Experience shows that valuing their first language contributes to students’ sense of belonging and self-esteem. Linguistic skills and cultural capital foster community cohesion and ultimately contribute to economic growth.

The symposium presented findings from our latest school engagement work: the Raising Aspiration Project (RAP) and Proficiency in East European Languages (PEEL), runner-up at the 2022 UCL Widening Participation Community awards. The projects are run by UCL SSEES lecturers in collaboration with three secondary schools over four years, working with Romanian, Albanian, Bulgarian, and Ukrainian, and featuring guest languages, Spanish and Portuguese. We heard insights from one of these secondary schools about their approach to supporting heritage language speakers.

During the day we explored strategies to support and promote heritage languages, encourage the diverse array of heritage languages in UK schools, and establish practical steps for advocating for GCSE and A-Level courses in a wider range of languages.

This event was recorded on 02 May 2025.

0:00 Associate Professor Ramona Gonczol, UCL SSEES, Main organiser
3:02 Professor Paola Lettieri, UCL Vice Provost (Strategy)
9:55 HE Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev for the Republic of Bulgaria
14:00 HE Ambassador Ilir Kapiti for the Republic of Kosovo
16:21 Elizabeth Threadgold, EAL coordinator at Connah’s Quai High School, Wales
29:01 Dr Yordanka Velkova, Lecturer in Bulgarian, UCL SSEES
47:20 Dr Mirela Xhaferraj, Lecturer in Albanian, UCL SSEES
1:06:15 Daniela Mittlestadt, Lecturer in Portuguese, UCL SELCS
1:12:26 Dr Mazal Oaknin Associate Professor in Spanish Language and Literature, Translation and Gender Studies, UCL SELCS
1:17:25 Dr Mirela Xhaferraj, Lecturer in Albanian, UCL SSEES
1:21:14 Ms Ella Teskey, Head of Inclusion Team at Park View School, Haringey, London
1:48:23 Enola student Park View
1:51:50 Cosmin student Park View
1:55:18 Soofia Amin Specialist Lead in Education for Multilingualism and Assistant Head Teacher at Kensington Primary
2:17:28 Dr Sabine Little Senior Lecturer in Languages Education, University of Sheffield
2:37:25 Dr Sophie Liggins, University of Essex
2:54:50 Dr Vicky Macleroy, Professor of Language and Literacy, Head of the MA Children’s Literature programme, and Head of the Centre for Language, Culture and Learning at University of Goldsmiths
3:16:18 Clare Allison Development Officer for Home Heritage and Community Languages (HHCL) for the National Consortium of Languages Education (NCLE) at University College London