26 November 2010

We warmly welcome the recognition by the Government that a foreign language is part of the essential knowledge and understanding which all pupils should have to take their place as educated members of society. The Government has rightly recognised that the study of a foreign language is a core subject discipline common to national curricula across the globe, and we are pleased to see it as one of the subjects which will make up the English Baccalaureate.

We welcome also the focus on international comparisons as a measure of how well our education system is performing. In calling for increased status for languages in the school curriculum we have often highlighted how poorly the UK fares in languages compared to other countries. We are delighted that, in addition to the international surveys mentioned in section 4.3 of the White Paper, England is also to take part in the forthcoming European Survey of Language Competences.

If we are to be judged by international standards we must give due importance to languages in the primary phase. Over the past decade we have made enormous progress in bringing provision in English primary schools in line with international practice. Over 92% of our primary schools now teach a language and we want to see this taught with the same rigour and challenge as other subjects, across the four years of key stage 2. We need to maintain and build on this momentum, through continued support for teachers and schools, so that children in English primary schools enjoy the same benefits from language learning as their peers in high performing countries.

We are aware of the challenges that the inclusion of a foreign language in the English Baccalaureate will present for those secondary schools where provision has dwindled over the last few years. They will need support to rebuild their capacity and to ensure that teaching in languages is stimulating for all pupils. CILT will continue to play its crucial role in driving forward excellence in language teaching through professional development for teachers.

The White Paper places a strong emphasis on GCSE as the main qualification taken by pupils. However, we welcome the freedom it gives to schools to innovate and offer equally rigorous non-GCSE qualifications to meet the needs of pupils. In our response to the Wolf Review of vocational education we set out our belief that languages have a crucial role to play in supporting our economic recovery, and that all pupils on all programmes, whether academic or vocational, should be able to combine their study with a language, gaining a general qualification such as GCSE or a vocational language qualification such as NVQ.

We look forward to working with the DfE, and with schools and teachers, to take forward this important agenda for languages.

Read the full paper.