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JOHNSON BACKS DEARING’S BLUEPRINT FOR A RENAISSANCE IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
12 March 2007
Learning a foreign language will become a compulsory part of the curriculum for 7-14 year olds, Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced today.
Welcoming Lord Dearing’s final report Alan Johnson said: “We are about to embark on a renaissance in languages in schools and beyond.” Lord Dearing and DfES National Director for Languages Dr Lid King were asked to carry out a comprehensive review of languages policy. Agreeing the report’s recommendations, Mr Johnson announced a powerful programme of action. He said the Government would support making languages compulsory for primary schools when the primary National Curriculum is next reviewed, meaning at least seven years language learning for every child in the country. The main recommendations of the report by Lord Dearing and Dr Lid King, the DfES National Director for Languages, are:• Languages to become a compulsory part of the curriculum from 7 to 14;• A three year blueprint of fresh measures to secure a renaissance of languages in secondary schools, including establishing an Open School for Languages, introducing more engaging courses and assessment and expanding training opportunities for secondary teachers; • An annual budget of over £50 m a year to support teaching in primary and secondary schools and to help fund supporting organisations. Alan Johnson said: “This excellent and comprehensive report provides an innovative and commonsense plan for encouraging a renaissance in languages in schools and beyond. “I want languages to be at the heart of learning. That’s why I accept Lord Dearing’s recommendation that we look to fully embed languages in the primary curriculum when it is next reviewed. The earlier you start learning a language the better. Making language study compulsory from 7 to 14 will give pupils seven years to build up their knowledge, confidence and experience.
“By the time they reach Key Stage 4 pupils will have built up a critical mass of knowledge – and hopefully a love - of languages. We need to demonstrate languages are both a useful skill and something to enjoy if we are to have better motivated learners. “The Dearing report will enable us to build on the heavy investment we have already made in our National Languages Strategy and our successful introduction of an entitlement to study languages at primary schools where already 70% of primaries are starting to teach a language to 7-11 year olds. “ Lord Dearing said: “The results of the consultation on my interim report were clear – head teachers agreed this was not an issue for a quick fix. “We learnt from pupils during the consultation that one menu does not suit all. We want to see pupils, whatever their backgrounds, achieve at levels appropriate to them – recognising their achievements and providing greater choice. “Pupils need to have the flexibility and desire to succeed and teachers need greater training and support. Employers can also play their part by showing their commitment to learning other tongues so our future workers are equipped to compete in the global economy.“Among the other key recommendations in the report are:• Making secondary school courses more engaging and accessible and developing alternatives to GCSE for a range of learners and creating more opportunities for overseas visits and work experience;• A new Open School for Languages to support teachers and learners, drawing on the full resources of information technology; • Using the Languages Ladder more widely to record and reward progress in the four skills of learning (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and counting points gained through assessment in performance tables;• Launching a National Teachers Research Scholarship scheme for languages, enabling teachers to work together with other experts to develop their pedagogy;• Improving teaching through a range of support – including training secondary school teachers to work in support of their primary colleagues - and helping good teachers share their skills with others;• An additional £3 m over four years for a HEFCE scheme to encourage young people to study languages;• Greater support for those who want to study community languages and offering a broader range of languages, such as Mandarin and Urdu;
• No return to compulsion at GCSE but strengthening instead the message to schools that they should have a benchmark of 50-90% of Key Stage 4 pupils studying a language;• Language indicators in the school achievement and attainment tables to measure take up and attainment at 16;• More personalised learning, with informed classroom assessment of every child’s language learning near the end of KS2 to inform teachers at KS3, enabling a smooth transition between primary and secondary school teaching;• A review of the present GCSE to maintain the level of challenge but to better engage teenagers; • Active use of “Immersion Courses” to help pupils manage transition from primary to secondary and to help catch-up at KS3 and more focused learning in KS4;• Steps to increase in the number of Specialist Language Colleges from 300 to 400; Lid King, co-author of the report and National Director for Languages, said: “I am very much looking forward to working closely with partners, schools and teachers on turning these exciting plans into reality.” Alan Johnson asked Lord Dearing to head the languages review in October 2006 to see what more could be done to encourage 14-16 year olds to study language courses leading to a recognised qualification. He delivered his interim report in December 2006. Lord Dearing’s final report does not support a return to compulsion at GCSE and points out that even in 2000, when languages were still compulsory, one in five pupils were giving up languages. Although the numbers studying GCSE have fallen since, the proportion getting an A*-C grade increased from 50% five years ago to 64% in 2006, showing compulsion is not the route to get more children getting good grades in languages. The report concluded that to get more children not only studying languages but doing well at GCSE we need to boost both their ability and enthusiasm.
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. When languages were a compulsory part of the schools curriculum of Key Stage 4 (for 14 to 16 year olds) the requirement was disapplied for many pupils and only 80 percent were taking the GCSE in a Modern Foreign Language. With the removal of that requirement the number taking the GCSE last summer had fallen to 51 percent, notably among the less academically successful. For those who did take the GCSE, the proportion getting an A* to C pass increased from 50% five years ago to 64% this year. 2. The report calls for languages to become part of the statutory National Curriculum in the four years of Key Stage 2 in primary schools when the curriculum is next reviewed by the QCA, with the prospect of this being in place in 2010. 3. The Languages Ladder, the national recognition scheme for languages, is one of the three overarching aims of the National Languages Strategy – ‘Languages for All, Languages for Life, A Strategy for England’ (2002) to recognise achievement in individual languages skills at all levels of competence and for all ages. There are six stages – Breakthrough, Preliminary, Intermediate, Advanced, Proficiency and Mastery, Learners can choose to be assessed in one or more of the four languages skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening – so a learner could progress faster in, for example, speaking than writing. Assessment is done by a series of ‘can do’ statements, which have been developed with reference to the National Qualifications Framework and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Since the Languages Ladder Asset Languages scheme was launched in 2005/6 there have been 22,436 entries for individual skills from 131 centres. 9% of these have been primary schools, 64% secondary schools and 27% post-16 centres. Over 1250 centres are now registered as Asset Languages assessment centres. Asset Languages have been developed by Cambridge Assessment in partnership with the DFES.4. The report is available online http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/subjects/languages/languagesreviewContact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2007/0041
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