THE recent history of language teaching in Scotland is a sorry example of ill-thought-through policymaking and the damaging effect of political interference in education.
In 2001, then education minister Jack McConnell removed the need for pupils to take a modern language in the first four years of high school. Instead, the chance to study a language became an “entitlement”.
Not surprisingly, the number of pupils taking courses fell, while some education authorities seized the chance to cut back on the resources devoted to languages.
While numbers have continued to decline, the Scottish Government has lately been pursuing a bold strategy – some say unrealistic – in primary schools, with the goal that all pupils will learn two languages, as well as English, by 2020.
These different approaches are on a collision course. If – and it remains an assumption – the promise on primary language learning can be delivered, primary pupils will arrive at secondary with a grounding in language learning and a thirst to continue. Yet there has been a 15 per cent decline in qualified language teachers, and in some secondaries, the Scottish Association of Language Teachers says, pupils can effectively no longer study languages beyond second year. This appears to be another example of patchwork policy.
The need to rationalise this approach is urgent. Languages are not only a useful skill in their own right but also a passport to future opportunity for young people. Understanding foreign languages involves thinking skills that have been shown to benefit other aspects of learning. In the context of Brexit and possibly even independence, such skills will become more valuable than ever.
A coherent plan for modern languages, perhaps offering pupils a narrower range, but properly resourced and with effective workforce planning, is not only desirable in the modern age; it is also essential.
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