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
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/914406
The Linguist 15 FEATURES teaching languages and have little time to teach it." Inadequate assessments Informal assessment of language learning is much more common than formal assessment, according to the survey, and for some schools this is still an 'area of development'. Louisa Dawes, Lecturer in Education in Modern Languages at the University of Manchester, leads professional development for primary teachers. She identifies the following problems: "Primary teachers are very comfortable and confident with assessment in other areas of the primary curriculum, but less so in MFL. The requirement to show progress and collect evidence is problematic in a way that it isn't in maths and English simply because staff struggle to find assessment windows. Also, staff are lacking in confidence." Where primary schools are able to work collaboratively and with the support of secondary schools, assessment practices are much more robust. Dr Rachel Hawkes, Executive Director of International Education and Research at Comberton Academy Trust in Cambridge, describes how schools in a Multi-Academy Trust can work together: "We have termly primary languages liaison meetings and an 'in common' assessment at Easter of Y6 which we have agreed the conditions for. Transition information on content/grammar, i.e. what has been taught, and then assessment of how well students have grasped it in three bands (+, =, -) is provided by all." A lack of sound assessment at KS2 may contribute to poor progression when pupils move on to Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14). The Language Trends survey refers to "A wide gulf of understanding between primary and secondary schools," and offers little hope for the future: "The barriers primary and secondary schools face in working with each other to achieve a smooth transition in languages from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 have been well- rehearsed, but there is little impetus or direction to improve." Looking ahead The increased challenges primary schools face in teaching MFL should not obscure the commendable work that is being done in the sector. Pupils' enthusiasm for MFL is beyond doubt and teacher respondents to the survey describe the cognitive benefits for learners as well as gains in pupils' confidence and understanding about the world. Professor Anna Lise Gordon, President of the Association for Language Learning (ALL), agrees: "There is little doubt that budget cuts are having an impact on staffing levels and curriculum provision in many primary and secondary schools. But there is much positive activity across the country, and there is always more work to do to inspire young people of all ages in their language learning." Some evidence suggests that cuts are encouraging more schools, and not just those in academy trusts, to work collaboratively, generating benefits to practice, such as that outlined above. A strong argument for increasing the curriculum time allocated to language learning presents itself in the Language Trends survey: schools who teach languages for less than 30 minutes a week were more likely to have lower levels of educational attainment overall. Funding issues are unlikely to disappear quickly. The National Audit Office claims that schools face further cuts of 8% in real terms by 2019-20. Teachers have the unenviable task of persuading senior managers of the value of including the subject in an overcrowded curriculum, and of raising its profile in the fallout of the EU referendum. It is to be hoped that the provision of languages in primary schools will not face the same demise as in Northern Ireland, where a lack of funding saw the subject being withdrawn in 2015. Notes 1 Board, K & Tinsley, T (2017) 'Language Trends 2016/17. Language teaching in primary and secondary schools in England'. Survey Report, British Council 2 Ofsted (2016) 'Foreign Languages and Science Provision in Primary Schools'