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Citizens of a Multilingual World: Key Issues

Appendix B

Evidence from research and inspection reports

HMI Standards and Quality Report on Modern Languages (1998)

The publication in the autumn of 1998 of the HMI report on Standards and Quality in Primary and Secondary Schools 1994-98: Modern Languages led to the setting up of the AGL. In the accompanying statement the Minister, Helen Liddell gave what she described as a 'stark warning' about the damage being done to Scotland's ability to compete on the world stage by shortcomings in modern languages in our schools. Although a number of strengths were highlighted in the Standards and Quality report, they were overshadowed by the listing of a number of major weaknesses in the teaching and organisation of modern languages in both primary and secondary schools. These included inconsistencies of time allocation, deficiencies in continuity of language, and the absence of reading and writing and of links to other curricular areas in primary courses. Secondary courses were said to offer neither appropriate progression routes for students nor opportunities to continue the language previously studied. There was a failure to maintain provision for diversification of languages.

Foreign Languages in the Upper Secondary School (FLUSS)

In 1996, following concern about the decline in uptake of modern languages courses at Higher, the SOEID commissioned a study from the Scottish Council for Research in Education and the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (Scottish CILT) to investigate the causes. In their report (McPake et al.,1999), the researchers identified low levels of student motivation to learn languages as the principal reason for declining uptake. While many students recognised the long-term benefits of proficiency in another language, they less commonly identified a role for languages in fulfilling their more immediate goals which were principally to acquire the relevant qualifications to enter Further or Higher Education, or to embark upon the career of their choice. The research also established that modern languages tended not to be strongly promoted or 'marketed' in schools in comparison with other subjects, and that teachers of Guidance and senior management staff would benefit from more extensive and up-to-date information on the value of languages for further study and career. Low levels of student motivation were exacerbated by what the researchers described as a 'climate of negativity' in schools and in the wider society concerning languages: beliefs that the nation's competence in modern languages was low and unlikely to improve.

Modern Languages in the Primary School

This was a survey of national provision for MLPS in schools and in teacher education, published in 1999. It demonstrated that although large numbers of teachers had received the national training for MLPS, the situation had not yet been reached of having one trained teacher per primary school. This was partly caused by movement of teachers from one school to another. There was considerable variation in how MLPS was being implemented, both in schools and in teacher education. The 'drop in' model was prevalent, whereby the one trained teacher taught the modern language to a number of classes in the same primary school.

Assessment of Achievement Programme Modern Languages Pilot

In 1995, researchers at Scottish CILT were commissioned by the SOEID to conduct a pilot study to investigate the feasibility of an Assessment of Achievement Programme survey of student attainment in modern languages at P7 and S2. The findings from the study are presented in an unpublished report (Cavani et al., 1999). Only tentative conclusions about student attainment can be drawn from this research, given its experimental nature and the small sample on which the work was based. However, these conclusions suggest that the range of attainment is very wide both at P7 and at S2, due in part to the range of provision models for languages, particularly at primary level. At S2, some of the highest performing students appeared already to be reaching standards in the oral work comparable with that required for Standard Grade.

Parents' Views on Modern Languages Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools

In 1999, researchers at Scottish CILT were commissioned by the Action Group to conduct a survey of parents' views on languages provision in Scottish schools. Findings from the survey, based on questionnaires and telephone interviews with a random sample of parents of children in the upper primary and in secondary schools, indicated that parents are generally well disposed towards languages. Most support starting a language in primary school and most agree that all children should study a language up to S4. However, they were not always well informed about provision, their children's progress, or the goals for language learning at school. A report on this survey will be published by Scottish CILT (McPake, forthcoming).

SCOTLANG

Funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and based at Scottish CILT, SCOTLANG is intended to establish a national infrastructure for research on the teaching, learning and use of languages in Scotland. The funding allows for new purpose-built accommodation, the preparation of research-training modules, the development of a national statistical database on the extent to which languages are learnt and used, and the implementation of six research seed-projects. Four of these seed-projects are located in universities other than Stirling in order to enable a national research network to be developed and two seed-projects are based at Stirling.

Scottish Gaelic

Research done by Scottish CILT, the Scottish Council for Research in Education and Leirsinn (Isle of Skye) assessed the attainment of pupils receiving Gaelic-medium education in comparison with English-medium counterparts across the curriculum areas English, mathematics, science and Gaelic (for Gaelic-medium students only). In the report (Johnstone et al.,1999) Gaelic-medium students were not disadvantaged in comparison with English-medium pupils and become highly fluent in two languages. The research shows that pupils in Scotland are well-placed to acquire a high level of fluency in another language by means of immersion.

Immersion

Scottish CILT was commissioned by SOEID to conduct a review of research on immersion in a second language at school. Various immersion approaches were studied. In the conclusions drawn from the review (Johnstone, 2000), it is noted that, provided certain conditions are fulfilled, immersion delivers markedly higher levels of proficiency than when the language is taught as a school subject. Local authorities may wish to consider the local possibilities for 'virtual' or 'real' immersion teaching. The full report will be published in Autumn 2000, to be followed by an SEED Interchange.

Language needs of business

The Scottish Council for Research in Education was commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department to conduct a review of research literature on the possible contribution of modern language skills to the economic development of Scotland. The principal conclusion of the review (Hall, 2000) is that, in the recruitment of new employees, businesses look primarily for relevant technical and professional skills and that employees with languages skills are seldom rewarded. The subsequently published Marshall report (2000) on the other hand took account of the employment statistics of languages graduates as compared with graduates of other subjects. Languages graduates were found to have a higher chance of employment than graduates of subjects such as mathematics, computing, English, psychology, business administration, engineering, art & design. Their employment was not limited to teaching, translating, tourism and diplomacy but featured business services, manufacturing, wholesale/retail and transport/communication. The communications and intercultural skills associated with languages appeared to give languages graduates a good chance of obtaining employment, even though their foreign languages skills were not necessarily put to direct use once they were in their post.

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