[EDLING:217] UK: Language classes 'reduced to holiday phrases'

[Francis M. Hult]

Telegraph

Language classes 'reduced to holiday phrases' 

Foreign language classes in state schools have been reduced to a "survival tool 
kit for a holiday abroad", says a report published yesterday.

Lessons have been stripped of any serious linguistic or cultural content in an 
attempt to boost interest, it is claimed.

The conclusions are made by Civitas, the Right-wing think-tank, in a study 
which warns that modern syllabuses have been dumbed down over the past 20 years 
as teachers react to the latest fads to revive pupils' waning enthusiasm. 

Writing in The Corruption of the Curriculum, Shirley Lawes, the subject leader 
for modern languages at the Institute of Education, London, said Spanish has 
been seen as an attractive subject only because the country is a favourite with 
British holidaymakers.

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