The seventh in the series of conversations with language education specialists ‘Language Lives’ is now available on line: Mike Byram, Emeritus Professor in Education at the University of Durham, is interviewed by Alan Dobson and John Daniels.

Mike attended a state secondary school in Yorkshire and then read modern languages at the University of Cambridge, where he later completed a PhD in Danish literature. After Cambridge, he taught French and German in a Kent secondary school, later becoming Head of Languages and an adult education tutor. In 1980 he moved to the University of Durham as a PGCE tutor and subsequently became closely engaged in research and the supervision of doctoral students.

A researcher of international standing, Mike is particularly known worldwide for his work on Intercultural Communicative Competence. As an adviser to the Council of Europe’s Language Policy Division, he was involved closely involved in the development of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and subsequently the COE’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.