The choice of language offered is a key consideration for transition in languages as it
is an important factor in ensuring continuity and progression, if the goal of language
learning is sustained study of a language across age phases (Hunt et al., 2008; Rose,
78 any language. The choice of language was, and continues to be a major issue in
Primary Languages (Board and Tinsley, 2014).
Driscoll et al. (2004a) noted that French was the most commonly taught language
and was offered in 40% of all schools with Key Stage 2 pupils and was the only
language in 32% of the schools. Only 8% offered more than one language (Spanish
6%, German 4%, Italian 2% and another language 1%). Perhaps this was due to
teachers’ linguistic knowledge as a quarter of teachers surveyed reported having a GCSE or equivalent in French which was more than for all other languages
combined.
The choice of language at primary schools in Wade et al.’s (2009) findings was
determined by the availability of teachers and resources and the languages offered by
local secondary schools, suggesting some level of liaison between primary and
secondary phases. In addition, over a third of schools were involved in pupil visits to
secondary schools and also a third of schools participated in a programme of visits
by secondary teachers to primary schools (though these activities were not
specifically related to languages). The report recommended the interchange of
information between primary and secondary schools.
More recently, Cable et al. (2010) also found French was the language most
commonly taught by schools but some schools were teaching Spanish or German in
previous research (Driscoll et al., 2004a; Muijs et al., 2005; DfES, 2007; Wade et al.,
2009). The report also found that most teachers were giving informal, immediate
79 for languages. This is consistent with the findings from the DCSF/NFER studies
(Wade et al., 2009; Whitby et al., 2008; Lines et al., 2007) and this theme continues
in more recent research (Board and Tinsley, 2014; Cable et al., 2010; Hunt, 2009;
Tinsley and Board, 2013). There was some evidence of progression where languages
were taught throughout Key Stage 2 but a recommendation was made for further
training to develop assessment in Primary Languages and to ensure progression in
children’s learning.
Rose (2009) also made recommendations in relation to schools’ choice of
language(s) to be taught at Key Stage 2. The report recommended that primary
schools limit their teaching to only one or two languages, discouraging schools from
adopting a multilingual approach such as that in the Primary Language Awareness
project directed by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL, 2007).
Consistency and progression were cited as the main reasons for this:
The review’s recommendation to provide one or two languages would promote consistency between children’s primary and secondary school learning, and would provide secondary teachers with a clearer picture of children’s prior learning and attainment in order to plan for
progression. It may reduce (though not eradicate) the risk of being unable to continue learning a particular language at secondary school and of secondary schools potentially discounting primary
schoolchildren’s prior learning (Rose 2009:103).
In a similar vein, Rose states explicitly that the choice of language(s) should be
linked to transition and continuity: “as far as possible the languages offered should
be those which children will be taught in Key Stage 3” (Rose 2009:24). This is interesting in the light of studies which suggest that the choice of language to teach
80 in KS2 has been made by schools on the basis of teacher expertise and availability,
and not necessarily according to the language(s) that pupils are likely to study in Key
Stage 3 (Driscoll et al., 2004a; DfES, 2007).
In contrast to research and policies recommending that Primary Languages should be
delivered by the primary class teacher and acknowledging the benefits of this
approach (QCA, 2001b; Driscoll et al., 2004a; Driscoll et al., 2004b; DfES, 2005a),
Rose acknowledged the benefits of class teachers delivering language lessons
(particularly the opportunities this presents to integrate languages into the school
day) yet questioned the feasibility of this method of delivery. This was due to
concerns regarding the availability of teachers with appropriate linguistic and
pedagogical skills (QCA, 2001b) and the cost of training primary teachers to a high
linguistic level (as in Scotland). The mixed approach Rose advocated was
recommended in the Languages Review (Dearing and King, 2007): “[...] the central
role of the primary class teacher is supported by secondary schools and their
specialist teachers, teaching assistants and foreign language assistants with high
levels of language competence and appropriate resources, including ICT”(Rose
2009:105).
This reflects the situation whereby primary schools’ selection of language is usually
determined by the availability of teachers and teachers’ linguistic competence and confidence (Driscoll et al., 2004a; Cable et al., 2010; Wade et al., 2009). Although
in some cases the choice of language is informed by the languages taught by
secondary schools (Wade et al., 2009), as a result of this situation, many Year 7
81 within one Year 7 class, some pupils may have studied the same language previously
but others may be completely new to the language. Moreover, there is likely to be
variation in the experiences of pupils who have been learning the same language, as
some may have studied the language for anything up to seven years at primary
school (though most pupils learn a language in Key Stage 2 (Wade et al., 2009)) and
other schools follow a skills based language-awareness programme such as
‘Discovering Language’ (evaluated by Barton, Bragg and Serratrice (2009)) or ‘The Language Investigator’ (explored by Jones, Barnes, and Hunt (2005)) which adopt a
multilingual approach and involve comparing and contrasting different languages,
drawing on the work of Hawkins (2005).
The most recent language trends survey (Board and Tinsley, 2014) report that this
rather confused situation persists: “Despite the fact that three quarters of primary schools offer French, and most of the rest offer Spanish – the two languages most
commonly taught in secondary schools – there is a disconnect between the two key
stages as regards languages offered, and frustration that teaching may be ‘wasted’ if pupils cannot continue with the same language.” (Board and Tinsley, 2014:60).
Moreover, primary teachers are uncertain of the value of what they do and secondary
schools overwhelmed by the differentiation challenges.