[lg policy] Language Learning in Scotland : A 1+2 Approach. PART 3: INTRODUCING ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES TO PRIMARY

[Harold Schiffman]

Language Learning in Scotland : A 1+2 Approach


PART 3: INTRODUCING ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES TO PRIMARY

Starting early - introducing an additional language (L2) at Primary 1

1. There is a considerable body of evidence which indicates that young
children learn languages more easily than older learners in terms of
mental flexibility and the ability to focus on the input they receive.
It is also true that children need to be exposed to sufficient
quantities of 'engaging' input in order to learn (and maintain)
another language. In general, this will be easier to deliver from the
primary stage, although it is recognised that as the experience with
many languages including GME indicates, it is possible for effective
language learning to take place in pre-school contexts. This means
that it is important to be realistic about what can be achieved in a
situation of limited resources and limited exposure to the target
language. However, there is a substantial body of evidence to indicate
that lowering the age of access to other languages can have beneficial
effects on monolingual children's awareness of languages and enhance
their natural curiosity. Such 'priming' can then lead to an enhanced
readiness to learn other languages at a later stage and can help
foster positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures. This
is especially important in the UK because of the lack of incentives
and motivation to learn other languages due to the perceived status of
English as a worldwide language.

2. In recent years learning of the first foreign language in many
European countries has begun at an increasingly early age. In the
majority of countries teaching at least one foreign language is
compulsory, and the trend for the starting age is now between six and
nine years old. Together with European countries outwith the EU, and
many other countries worldwide, these countries introduce a first
additional language at the early stages of primary school (and
sometimes pre-school). The language for most schools where the policy
applies is English - but not inevitably so. Further languages are
introduced at various stages of the primary school or early secondary.
There is no reason why Scotland should not offer children the same
opportunities as children in other European countries and many other
countries worldwide. Indeed, if Scotland is to be a leading
competitive nation of the future the case in support of young people
learning an additional language from an early age is irrefutable.

Recommendation 1: The Working Group recommends that schools offer
children access to an additional language from Primary 1.

Choosing a language

3. The Working Group considered the rationale for promoting specific
languages but decided not to set a hierarchy of languages to be
learned by pupils in Scotland. This is a matter for schools and local
authorities to decide, taking account of the local context. The
Working Group nonetheless believes that continuing to engage with our
nearest neighbours in Europe will remain a priority for young people
in Scotland. Learning French, German, Italian and Spanish will
continue to have an important place. There is, however, also a case to
be made for taking account of new economies of the future, as Scotland
has already started to do by encouraging the promotion of Chinese. The
Working Group noted the strong case to be made for other languages,
such as Portuguese (Brazil), Arabic and Russian, as well as other
eastern European languages, including Slavonic languages.

4. The Working Group noted that Gaelic education is a key element of
Scotland's National Plan for Gaelic which aims to secure a sustainable
future for the language. Therefore, for some local authorities Gaelic
will be a substantive element of their languages provision. It
welcomes the development of Gaelic learning and teaching within such
local authorities as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CNES), Highland,
Glasgow, Edinburgh or elsewhere through GME or Gaelic Learner
Education (GLE). As part of 1+2 development, Gaelic will be the L2
language for some pupils.

5. The Working Group acknowledged the work being done to encourage the
use of Scots language at all levels of the school. It welcomes the
recommendations of the Scottish Studies Working Group that all
learners should have an understanding of the unique contribution of
Scots as part of Scotland's historic language diversity.

6. For an increasing number of Scottish young people the mother tongue
will be from a range of community languages. The most significant of
these are (in numeric descending order) Polish, Punjabi, Urdu and
Arabic. Some pupils in Scottish schools are native speakers of western
European languages, the most prevalent of which is French. For those
young Scots for whom the first language is not English, it is
inevitable that the first additional language (L2) should be English.

7. A genuine mother tongue + 1 approach from the earliest stages of
education will send powerful messages to very young children and their
families on language acquisition in a diverse, multilingual,
multicultural society. Supporting the continuation of the variety of
mother tongues found within Scotland's school population is a
challenging task and is not one that schools meet currently through
teaching of the language formally in school. However, schools should
celebrate the variety of languages that children bring with them and,
as far as possible, seek to encourage them to maintain and develop
their mother tongue. The development of a local authority languages
strategy should consider how schools can encourage continuation of
mother tongue learning and how this might be resourced.

8. Local language strategies should consider the place of an enhanced
role for the teaching of English as an Additional Language (EAL)
within schools. For some young people also, the first language will be
British Sign Language (BSL) and the status of BSL as a language must
also be fully acknowledged as part of a local authority's languages
strategy.

9. As implementation of the 1+2 policy develops, local authorities
should review their provision of languages and develop strategies for
languages that will allow for a range of options for learners within
and across their own area. Within that framework, schools will make
informed decisions about the additional languages to introduce.

Recommendation 2: The Working Group recommends that Local Authorities
and schools develop a 1+2 strategy for language learning within which
schools can determine which additional languages to offer. As part of
this strategy, consideration should be given to teaching modern
European languages, languages of the strong economies of the future,
Gaelic, and community languages of pupils in schools.

Challenges

10. The delivery of an earlier start to language learning in primary
school will be challenging for schools and teachers. In making its
recommendation on earlier access to language learning the Working
Group is aware of issues surrounding the learning and teaching of
modern languages in primary. Although all pupils are entitled to learn
a language from P6, there are concerns that some primary children do
not have access to an additional language due to staffing, training or
funding issues, or other perceived curricular priorities. There are
also particular issues in very small primary schools, especially in
rural areas, where there will only be a small number of teachers with
responsibility for delivery of the whole curriculum. Without ongoing
training, many primary teachers do not feel confident in teaching a
modern language and some do not volunteer despite training.
Nevertheless, there is evidence of staff in some primary schools
working successfully with children on language learning from the
beginning of primary or earlier.

11. There is a considerable variety of methods which teachers can use
to engage children and young people in early language learning.
Effective learning experiences build on children's natural curiosity
and allow them to explore sounds, using songs and rhyme. The best
lessons include a variety of approaches such as songs, games, direct
teaching, paired and group activities. In best practice, primary
teachers reinforce the additional language across the curriculum and
not just during the due time allocated to formal language teaching. A
whole school approach to language learning reinforces the skills
involved and helps children to learn better. Notwithstanding the
longer term issues of teachers' language skills and qualifications,
which are taken up later in this report, the Working Group considers
that early access to language learning, together with effective and
stimulating approaches, should be piloted in schools, with a view to
demonstrating the impact and feasibility of an earlier start to
language learning.

12. Current modern language experiences and outcomes begin at second
level but these can be applied from early primary school. However,
some work is required to establish, through time, a broad framework
for learning an additional language from an earlier age. This should
be developed in such a way as to capture the imagination and interest
of pupils, whilst giving them a real sense of progress. This work
should be led by Education Scotland and should provide a basis for
initial teacher education and CPD associated with earlier access to
language learning. It should also assist others involved in supporting
language teaching, such as Foreign Language Assistants and other
appropriately skilled other native speakers of language. Crucial to
the process must be clear progression in language learning throughout
the primary school and beyond, consistent with the experiences and
outcomes set out within the framework of Curriculum for Excellence.

Recommendation 3: The Working Group recommends that the Scottish
Government fund a number of pilot projects in 2012-13 on introducing
access to language learning in primary schools from Primary 1 on a
phased basis from 2013-14.

Introducing a second additional language - L3

13. The Government's commitment is to create the conditions in which
every child will learn two languages in addition to their mother
tongue. The Working Group believes that schools and local authorities
should work towards introducing a second additional language (L3) at a
later stage of primary education. The Working Group believes that this
will be a challenge for many schools, but one which must be met if a
1+2 policy is to become a reality. While the Working Group believes
that this second language should be introduced in a way that allows
for genuine progression in language acquisition, this does not
necessarily mean to the same degree of depth as the first language. It
is important that the introduction of a second additional language
does not undermine pupil progress in the L2 language.

14. The Working Group noted that practice exists in some local
authority areas for some primary schools to introduce two, or in some
cases more than two languages, sometimes on a taster or "carousel"
model. While this approach has led to positive developments in some
schools, in many schools there have been problems with quality or
depth of delivery and continuity.

15. Learning about the culture of a country frequently arouses
enthusiasm for learning the language. This has been evident in the
recent rise in the teaching of Chinese language and culture in
Scotland. Young people who learn about the culture of China become
interested in learning the language. While traditional language
teaching often begins with the language and builds in study of the
culture of the foreign country, this inverse methodology does appear
to be motivating pupils initially to learn more. The use of a planned
interdisciplinary approach and aspects of citizenship and
international education would be one way of introducing the L3
language.

16. Increasing use of planned interdisciplinary learning (one of the
four contexts for learning within CfE) can facilitate learning about
aspects of other countries across the curriculum. In primary schools
for example, projects about other countries can involve aspects of
language, geography, history, environmental studies and the expressive
arts, together with health and wellbeing. The other country can become
a focus for learning across the school. Similarly, a focus on Scotland
can be a pathway to Gaelic and Scots. The new online Scottish Studies
resource demonstrates how learning about the interconnected nature of
Scotland's languages, culture, history, literature and place can be a
natural and normal part of the learning experience from early years to
the senior phase.

17. In following such an approach, it would be important to establish
how and when language skills will be developed. The ability to take
part in a few simple transactions, enjoy listening to a song in
another language and understand some personal information, for
example, would be meaningful and achievable. While the depth of L3
language learning will be less than that relating to L2, it is
important that the quality of the language experience for pupils
should be high with appropriate progression for the learner.

18. The challenges for the introduction of the L3 language are similar
to those for the introduction of the L2 language. There are issues of
staffing, training and funding and the claims of other areas of the
curriculum. However, there is much good work underway in many primary
schools, and examples of good practice, together with new approaches
to practice, should be developed. Schools will be best placed to
decide upon the most practicable way for them to introduce a second
modern language at this stage. Consideration of practical challenges
should be a key feature of the piloting and trialling proposed in
Recommendation 3 above.

Recommendation 4: The Working Group recommends that a second
additional language (L3) be introduced for pupils at a later stage in
the primary school. The time for introduction of the L3 language would
be a matter for schools and Local Authorities to determine but no
later than P5.

Developing the learning of L2 and L3

19. A great deal of high quality curricular material has already been
developed in many schools in relation to languages. There is
considerable support from cultural organisations. Within the context
of a 1 + 2 policy it is of central importance, however, that there be
real progression across the stages in terms of all language
development. Education Scotland, cultural organisations, Scotland's
National Centre for Languages, universities, other agencies with a
proven track record in the area and very importantly individual
teachers often working in collaboration, will have a significant role
to play in developing curriculum advice, support and exemplar
materials for earlier and additional language learning.

20. Considerable work has already been undertaken in many primary
schools on interdisciplinary working involving additional languages.
This work should continue to be developed. Using language as part of
an interdisciplinary approach is one of the most effective ways of
emphasising the relevance the additional language has for other areas
of study and work. Education Scotland and Scotland's National Centre
for Languages should support this work. It has already been suggested
that the trialling of interdisciplinary working should take place in
the early stages of a 1 + 2 implementation programme.

Recommendation 5: The Working Group recommends that Education Scotland
and Scotland's National Centre for Languages provide support for
approaches to the introduction of the 1+2 policy including
interdisciplinary working initially through support for piloting and
trialling in schools.

Time allocation

21. The Working Group does not propose a fixed number of hours for the
learning of language in primary schools. In the past recommendations
have been made about the amount of time within the week during which
pupils should be learning a language. There is considerable doubt
about the extent to which such recommendations have been implemented.
However, good practice indicates that there needs to be regular
timetabled commitments to language learning. For example, there may be
advantages in short blocks of language learning on several occasions
throughout the week at the early and primary stages. Building such
blocks of language learning into the daily routine of learners, plus
the use of the target language across other aspects of learning can
avoid the danger that a language 'hour' is the first to go when
responding to the pressure of holidays or other pressures on the
timetable.

Recommendation 6: The Working Group recommends that there should be
regular planned exposure to L2 and L3 languages.

Organisational issues

22. There will be significant organisational, resource and staffing
issues from Primary 1 onwards as the result of introducing a L2
language with progression built in. There will need to be sufficient
numbers of primary teachers, appropriately trained, confident and
competent in language teaching. Some of that training will be of
teachers in post resulting in issues of absence cover and related
issues of teacher supply. This challenge is addressed in Part 6.
Teachers may also be supported by appropriately skilled native or
fluent speakers of other languages, both from overseas and already
living and working in communities in Scotland. Issues surrounding this
are addressed in Part 7. It is important that the introduction of the
L2 and L3 languages be seen holistically within the school's
development of the curriculum, and not as an 'add on', which is how
the introduction of language teaching at the primary stages has
sometimes been seen in the past. This recommendation will have clear
pedagogical and organisational implications for the whole school
curriculum

Recommendation 7: The Working Group recommends that local authorities
work with their schools to address the organisational and curricular
issues arising from earlier access of learners to language learning.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/05/3670/5

More at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/05/3670/6

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