UK: Plans to get every young child speaking a foreign language are on track

Francis Hult francis.hult at UTSA.EDU
Thu Mar 27 14:42:30 UTC 2008


Via lgpolicy...


Plans to get every young child speaking a foreign language are on track
By Nick Jackson
Thursday, 27 March 2008


Young children may be receptive to languages, but until last year,
language teaching in primary schools was a matter of luck. The right
head and the right teachers meant that some schools were teaching
French, German and Spanish, but, for most, languages were something to
be left to GCSEs. All that changed last March, when the Dearing Report
recommended that all primary schools should be teaching a modern
foreign language by September 2009. Now, it is policy, and primary
schools are racing to catch up.  With the deadline to lay on a foreign
language at Key Stage 2 just 18 months away, schools have already made
dramatic progress. In 2002, 44 per cent offered language teaching, now
70 per cent do, and the Government has given £35m to help schools
reach the target.

Still, some heads will be left scratching their heads. How can
primaries teach languages without a specialist? Some are turning to
independent consultants for advice and materials. But government
funding has already made cash available through the National Centre
for Languages (Cilt), which co-ordinates the National Advisory Centre
on Early Languages Learning. With guidance and resources online and a
plethora of training opportunities, Cilt is confident that all British
primary schools will soon be up to scratch.
"The 2009 deadline is absolutely realisable," says Carmel O'Hagan,
from Cilt. "There's significant funding going into primary languages
and a huge amount of support."

Full story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/plans-to-get-every-young-child-speaking-a-foreign-language-are-on-track-800898.html

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