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/988970
Making languages statutory at Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) in England has been a welcome boost to the subject. So why does this success not translate to secondary schools? One recognised problem is the transition from primary to secondary. Typically, there is little or no communication between secondary schools and their feeder primaries. Year 7 teachers are faced with groups of students who have learnt a range of languages at primary, in different ways, and they often have no way of knowing what. As a result, students often start again from scratch in Year 7: terrible for motivation and a wasted opportunity to build on prior learning. At its last meeting, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Languages heard from the Hackney Learning Trust, which may have found a solution. In 2013, all Hackney primary and secondary schools, together with the trust, decided that Spanish would be taught as the 'first language' across all schools. Mutually agreed criteria and attainment objectives for each of Years 1 to 6, and an electronic system for passing relevant data to secondary teachers, was established, backed by continuing professional development (CPD) and an array of supportive activities. The first cohort to do a full four years of Spanish at KS2 transferred to secondary in 2017, so it is too early to register any positive impact on GCSE take-up or results. But 66% of Year 6 pupils are achieving the expected attainment objectives. Amani and Mikolay, two Year 6 pupils who attended the meeting (pictured, above, at the House of Lords), were visibly enthusiastic about Spanish and looking forward to learning more languages at secondary. It is important to note that the 'Spanish first' policy does not mean other languages are downgraded at secondary. Rather, it is used as a basis from which to increase engagement with languages. The APPG noted that Hackney's transition model could provide many lessons to schools across the country. The cultural institutes are ready to provide support and the Hackney team is keen to share their best practice. To find out more, contact appgmfl@gmail.com. 6 The Linguist Vol/57 No/3 2018 ciol.org.uk/tl NEWS & EDITORIAL Thebig Q How did you come up with the idea of teaching languages to older adults? A I used to work in the care sector and I witnessed a lot of activities for isolated people which were quite passive and didn't have a particularly positive cognitive effect. Then I went abroad for a few years and saw the horizons that language learning brought me. My gran had dementia, so I started reading about art and music therapy for older people, and discovered new research about bilingualism protecting against dementia. I realised that teaching languages to older adults could have cognitive benefits, increase wellbeing and tackle social isolation. Q How did you develop it into a business? A There's been a lot of funding for social enterprises from the Scottish government, so I entered the Converge Challenge social enterprise award in 2015, which is about five months' long. Through that, I received business advice, and learnt how to write a business plan, pitch and gather the measures for social impact. I came second and received seed funding to do pilot sessions. Q When did you launch Lingo Flamingo? A We were launched by [Scotland's First Minister] Nicola Sturgeon in December 2015 and did pilot sessions throughout 2016. At the start of 2017, I hired a colleague and the organisation really developed. Q What languages do you teach? A We did an initial study on the languages people would like to learn and streamlined our package to four languages: French, Spanish, Italian and German. We tailor the classes, so for people with early onset dementia we have things like course books, but we take a different approach for people who have more advanced dementia. How Robbie Norval people with dementia Philip Harding-Esch works on behalf of the British Council to support the APPG on Modern Languages. TL The all-party group learnt about an interesting inner-city initiative. Philip Harding-Esch reports Inside parliament