Our selection criteria

The resources listed at launch were compiled in consultation with sector representatives.

We aim for the site to list many more resources from as wide a variety of sources as possible.

Below is the selection criteria policy for the review and approval of new content on the site:

POLICY FOR THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF NEW CONTENT

The website is intended to be a focus for the discipline to share information with stakeholders in one easy-to-access location, searchable by key terms. In general, the website will not duplicate information already held or promoted on other websites but will generally signpost and direct users to relevant source material online. In some cases, there may be scope for new content, especially thought pieces and information published to further our mission. This policy describes how content will be reviewed and approved for publication on The Languages Gateway.

1. Requests for content to be published on The Languages Gateway will be received via the on- line feedback form. In the initial 12 months following launch of The Languages Gateway, there may also be active calls for content to maximise the information included.

2. Requests for content publication will be reviewed by a minimum of 2 members of the

Editorial Group. Content should usually fulfil the following criteria:

a. Be relevant to at least one of the established filters (excluding locality);

b. Be of interest to a wide audience across at least one sector (e.g. primary, secondary, HE, lifelong learning);

c. If related to reports and policy documents, these will be linked to the website of the

responsible publishing party and should remain generally accessible via that website

for at least 12 months. Content creators will be responsible for updating The

Languages Gateway of any updates to materials that may affect the accessibility to,

or reliability of content as published on The Languages Gateway;

d. Information on admissions for potential languages students, information about open

job advertisements, studentships, funding programmes and other similar calls will

be reported with links to the source advertisement. The Languages Gateway will not

advertise such activities in its own right so as not to divert traffic away from the

source of the original call;

e. Content available from an individual rather than an organisation may be accepted,

on the assumption the individual has a prior track record of content provision;

f. Content from international sources outside the UK will be valid, but usually based on

recommendation from one or more members of the Editorial Group where it is

considered to be of particular value to the user community and does not

significantly replicate similar information already available in the UK;

g. Any content approved for publication on TLG should be already in the public domain

or be free to publish without restriction.

h. The Editorial Group will respond to requests for new content within 3 calendar

weeks.

3. It is recognised that the private sector has a very important role in promoting the wider

languages discipline across the UK, and private organisations are encouraged to be involved with TLG. That said, TLG will not explicitly advertise commercial activities from any one particular organisation. Commercial services in this sense are defined as any service provided for a commercial fee* (excluding school, College or University tuition), be it for profit or otherwise. Inevitably, some commercial services should be promoted (e.g. access to language courses, language certification, access to translation or interpreting services, specific language-based educational technologies). Criteria to determine when commercial activities will be included are:

4. The organisation providing such activities should have a track record in provision of language services recognisable via a brief search of the organisation’s website.

a. Fee paying language courses (not offered as part of a school, College or University

degree programme) will be published via a link to the home page of the language

course provider (which may be a sub-unit of a larger organisation). Individual

courses will not be promoted.

b. Recognised international language certification will be highlighted via a link to the

home page of the language certification provider. These will generally be limited to

certification offered by national cultural associations or their equivalent.

c. Information on translation and interpreting services will be through recognised

certification bodies (e.g. CIOL), not directly to individual translation and interpreting

companies.

d. Information on education technology providers for language teaching and/or

learning will only include organisations with an established track record and will link

to the technology providers’ home page.

e. No third party may cross-promote their activities by citing or otherwise claiming any

implied exclusive relationship with TLG, nor use TLG in an overt way to validate their

own marketing. In the event such cross-marketing is identified, that organisation

will have their content removed from TLG.

f. The final decision to accept or decline content will lie with TLG Editorial Group, and

no correspondence will be entered into.

*This should include for-profit and not-for-profit, as these entities may be in competition.