Last November 11th, the Annual General Assembly of Research Center MIRCo-UAM took place, thought of as the center’s main space to recall the work of this year, to analyze the answers given in the questionnaire sent beforehand (this year, unlike the others, the Assembly was thought as a debate forum on linguistic education) and to lay the bases for 2026.
In the annual report of Luisa Martín Rojo, the center’s director, this year’s activities were presented, as well as the growth of the center and the support it gives to the academic trajectories of its members. We also mentioned the challenges the LESUC, the future University Law in Madrid, pose to us, as well as those linked to the geographic, linguistic and disciplinary diversity of the center, which will renovate its direction soon.
Next, and observing the answers provided beforehand on linguistic education, a synthesis of all submissions was presented, and different people spoke on their insights. First, Gabriela Prego, from the Santiago de Compostela University, explained her experience with secondary students in Galicia. This speech made us closer to the main obstacles regarding teaching sociolinguistics in high schools, and possible solutions.
Next, Ben Rampton, from King’s College London, presented the Coalition for Language Education that he has been promoting along with other colleagues to extend this debate into civil society, to foster the recognition of inclusive education, to which MIRCo members showed their wish to join.
Afterwards, Luisa M. Rojo, Héctor Grad and Clara Molina explained their meeting with the Oficina Nacional de Asesoramiento Científico, organized as the previous step to Café de la Innovación UAM, and the challenges combining a political and academic agenda pose, as well as incorporating this synergy to the center’s activities.
Finally, and after presenting a diagnosis on the current linguistic education, more focused on formal rather than sociolinguistic aspects, a debate was opened, and different solutions were proposed. We agreed to continue the debate later on. Besides from meeting again in person for this and other lines of work, we concluded that this debate was enriching, and will orient our future work.
