[EDLING:2329] The Observer: Go-ahead for schools to drop EU languages

[fmhult at DOLPHIN.UPENN.EDU]

Francis Hult spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

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Go-ahead for schools to drop EU languages
Anushka Asthana and Alexander Christie-Miller
Sunday February 04 2007
The Observer


Schools will soon be able to swap French and German for Mandarin and Urdu under new plans to shake up foreign language teaching. For the first time headteachers in England and Wales will not be forced to offer one European language to children aged 11 to 14. Instead, they will be able to choose from a list that will highlight 'economically useful' languages from Asia and the Middle East .

The radical proposals are part of an attempt by ministers to avert a crisis in language teaching. Teenagers dropped French and German in their droves following the controversial decision to make studying a language optional at 14. 'With an increasingly globalised economy, UK plc must continue to be able to punch well above its weight,' said Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary.

Currently schools can offer a variety of languages as long as they provide one from the EU. The new plans are part of a major review of the secondary curriculum that will be published tomorrow by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority and are in line with recommendations by Lord Dearing, who is due to publish the findings of his review into language teaching in the spring. Headteachers and business leaders have welcomed the move to end the dominance of EU languages.

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