PAT WELCOMES LANGUAGES REVIEW REPORT

12 March 2007

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) has welcomed the key findings of the review of languages report announced today (12 March 2007).

PAT General Secretary Philip Parkin said: “PAT was pleased to contribute to the review, through written evidence and in meetings with Lord Dearing. We will study the proposals in full and give a more detailed response. 

“We welcome the main findings of this innovative and intelligent report, including the recommendation that the teaching of languages should start at primary school.

“This country has a poor reputation for success in modern languages, partly because, for many pupils, language teaching starts too late.

“Many children would benefit greatly from starting to learn other languages at an age when they have an enhanced capacity to absorb them.  If they start learning modern foreign languages earlier, pupils are less likely to feel self-conscious about speaking them when they become adolescents.

“Those who succeed at, and enjoy, languages are more likely to continue with them through their secondary education. Forcing pupils to learn a language beyond the age of 14 can be counter-productive if they do not have the aptitude or ability. If they are enthused about other languages early enough and become familiar with them, they are more likely to wish to continue with them, reversing the unfortunate decline in the number of students taking languages at GCSE.

“However, it is essential that teachers and support staff receive the training and resources they need.  We need people who are qualified to teach, we need resources for teaching these different languages and we need time to train people in order to do it properly. As Lord Dearing recommends, these changes must not be rushed but introduced gradually.

“Secondary schools may also need support to assimilate pupils with varying levels of ability in a variety of foreign languages.

“It will also be a challenge to recruit and train enough teachers so schools can offer foreign languages.   It may be necessary for primary schools to pool their resources, sharing teachers or perhaps using the facilities at secondary schools.

“There are immense educational and economic benefits to be gained from the study of a foreign language and it would be an enriching experience for primary pupils.  However, an enriched curriculum should not become an overloaded curriculum, with additional pressures of delivery alongside current demands.

“To avoid an already overcrowded primary curriculum becoming overloaded, we would suggest an easing of the pressures around Key Stage 2 assessment to compensate.”