University insists the supports are there. Some Saskatchewan university professors say international students being admitted to study in the province don't have the necessary English skills to be successful. At a recent university council meeting, University of Regina professor Cameron Louis brought up his concerns, tabling a motion stating international students were being accepted into programs they did not have sufficient English skills to complete. But the problem may be more visible as the enrolment of international students keeps increasing. At the U of R, the number of international students has nearly doubled from 730 in 2009 to 1,448 in 2013. The number has been going up at the University of Saskatchewan as well, from 1,714 in 2009-10 to 2,264 in 2012-13. Read more...

Romaninet is a multimedia course designed to promote the Romani language and culture, fostering linguistic diversity and social dialogue.
The project has been promoted by IES Ribeira do Louro, a Spanish school with a fair number of Roma students. A total of seven other organisations from five different countries have been involved in its development including The University of Manchester, one of the leading universities in Romani Language in Europe, several international NGO’s working with the Roma and a Romanian school with a high percentage of Roma. The project coordinator, AtinServices, is a consultancy specializing in the development of language courses. Concept Consulting has ensured the required quality level of the project.
The course is built on the European Common Framework of Reference for Romani language at beginner level (A1 & A2), for all ages. Its multimedia format facilitates the learning process and also motivates those with a low academic level.
The course includes 15 lessons, each of which has a dialogue based on animations, the new vocabulary from each lesson, a number of exercises for practising the content of the lesson, a simple grammar explanation and a tool for practicing listening and repeating. The course also includes Games to further practice the content of the lessons in a fun way, and a test to allow the user to confirm that the objectives of the lesson have been achieved. The course includes translations into five different languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Bulgarian.
The Romaninet website includes:

• The Romani language course
• Three cross units for use at three different academic levels
  • Primary Education
  • Secondary Education
  • University Education
• Romani Language & Culture Reports

For further information, please visit the website or contact info@romaninet.com.
Romani Language - Origins
Romani is the only Indo-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively in Europe since the middle ages. It is part of the phenomenon of Indic diaspora languages spoken by travelling communities of Indian origin outside of India. The name Rom or Řom, which is the self-designation of the speakers, has related cognates in the names of other travelling (peripatetic) communities that speak Indian languages or use an Indic-derived special vocabulary: the Lom of the Caucasus and Anatolia insert Indic vocabulary into their variety of Armenian. The Dom of the Near East, originally metalworkers and entertainers, speak Domari, one of the most conservative modern Indo-Aryan languages. In the Hunza valley in the north of Pakistan there is a population called the Ḍum, who are also metalworkers and musicians, and who speak a Central Indic (i.e. not a local) language. Based on the systematicity of sound changes attested in these languages, we know with a fair degree of certainty that these names all derive from the Indian term ḍom.

The main aim of the project is to share the results of the European Language Label Award winning "YELL Network" (www.yell-project.eu) and raise awareness of its main product the Virtual Documentation Centre which hosts an array of resources designed to improve language learning and encourage creative teaching to inspire language learning. The Young European Love Languages 2 (YELL2) project is a Key Activity 2 Languages Accompanying Measure Project supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme. The YELL2 team consists of three partners from Germany, UK and Turkey. In order to do this the project needs you! Being a part of the YELL network offers immediate and long-term benefits to language teachers and institutions as well as to the learners. Read more...