The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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Vol/53 No/6 2014 DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015 The Linguist 21 FEATURES level is from the class teacher, rather than a visiting specialist. There are also concerns that secondary teachers may not be sufficiently familiar with primary pedagogy and psychology. On the other hand, some argue that having a secondary teacher coming in can help with transition issues, especially when they are teaching Year 6. Although some government funding has been injected into initial teacher education in order to boost language expertise, there is still some doubt that new entrants to the profession, many of whom will have opted out of language study at the age of 14, will be able to redress the balance. In many primaries, language teaching remains the responsibility of one member of staff, and the departure of this teacher can result in the complete termination of MFL provision. Transition and continuity If, as the Government hopes, primary MFL teaching increases the take up of languages in secondary schools, it is important that there is some continuity from KS2 to KS3 (ages 11-14). Often more than 20 primary schools feed into a single secondary, rendering the likelihood of all pupils in Year 6 learning the same language highly improbable. Liaison and collaboration between primary and secondary schools is generally unsatisfactory, and sometimes non-existent. In 2013, 46% of primary schools reported having no formal arrangements with secondary schools. Primary assessment data, where it exists, is often not passed on to secondary colleagues and, when it is, may be ignored to avoid having to 'set' or differentiate pupils. There may be a reluctance to move on from an era when all secondary pupils could be treated as ab initio students. Some primary schools, however, have embraced programmes that facilitate transition. These take the form of language awareness or multilingual programmes, which set out to give pupils a taster of a range of different languages. The aim of such schemes is to foster generic language learning skills and linguistic sensitivity, encouraging pupils to analyse the structure of different languages and compare them with their mother tongue. One example is the 'Discovering Language' scheme, which is being taught in schools in Cambridgeshire, Kent and the Isle of Man. It involves teaching five or six languages, which may include French, German, Spanish, Latin, Japanese and Punjabi, to children in the first three years of KS2, before focusing on making the 'substantial progress in one language' required by the national curriculum in the final year. A perceived benefit is that non- specialist teachers learn alongside their pupils, with the help of interactive audiovisual resources that model language accurately. Looking to the future While we should applaud the decision to raise the status of languages in primary school, we should remember that the learning gains pupils make during this time are largely dependent on the quality of the teaching they receive. There is a pressing need for ongoing training in both subject knowledge and pedagogy in order to enhance schools' capacity and sustain MFL teaching in the long term. We must hope that further funding is made available to support this. Stronger partnerships with secondary schools are needed to enable pupils to build on their skills in the new secondary environment. It might not be unreasonable to suggest that secondary MFL teachers, with their superior language qualifications, might be somewhat possessive of the curriculum and tempted to criticise primary provision without being properly informed of its content. Such a situation is reminiscent of the earlier 'Primary French' initiative, which resulted in early-years language education being abandoned. We must hope that the launch this time will not meet the same fate for the same reasons. Notes 1 Burstall, C, Jamieson, M, Cohen, S and Hargreaves, M, 1974, 'Primary French in the Balance', NFER, Slough, UK 2 Board, K and Tinsley, T, 2014, 'Language Trends 2013/14', CfBT Education Trust 3 Cable, C et al, 2010, 'Language Learning at Key Stage 2. A longitudinal study. Final report', DCSF, London 4 Department for Education, 2013, 'The National Curriculum in England. Key Stages 1 and 2 framework document' In the absence of any assessment requirements, teachers may resist teaching the 'harder' skills IMAGES: © SHUTTERSTOCK