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SCoTENS

LANGUAGE EDUCATORS’ CONFERENCE

13-14 November 2009 Queen’s University Belfast

Report by Dr Eugene McKendry (QUB)

The Background Modern Languages (ML) education (including Irish) constantly swings between states of

concern and optimism. The take-up of languages in our schools has fluctuated, but the

trend on the whole is downwards. The introduction of the Revised Curriculum in

Northern Ireland in September 2007 makes ML optional at Key Stage 4, which will

severely affect numbers as has been the case in Britain where ML numbers have fallen

off alarmingly since KS4 languages became optional in 2002.

http://www.cilt.org.uk/research/languagetrends/index.htm

In Britain, languages in the Primary School have been promoted in recent years in order

to offset this trend and motivate pupils by an early start in languages, but this may be

placing too great a burden of expectancy on the primary sector. Nevertheless, the

growing support for primary languages, north and south, is important and will develop.

The primary and post-primary ML projects in the Republic have done much to increase

diversification of provision ( http://www.ncca.ie/index.asp?locID=347&docID=-1) but

also raises the question of the relationship between English, Irish and Foreign

Languages in provision. Diversification has also been an area of particular focus in

Northern Ireland (Neil & McKendry: “Diversification and other aspects of Language

provision in the Lower Secondary School in Northern Ireland”. In Language Education in

Ireland: current practice and future trends, eds Gallagher & Ó Laoire, Irish Association

for Applied Linguistics-IRAAL, 2006).

The traditional view of diversification, focusing on Irish and the main European and world

languages, must, however, be reconsidered in light of the new demography and

linguistic landscape of Ireland with the recent influx of large numbers of immigrants and

workers speaking languages not traditionally offered in our schools. This new linguistic

diversity is an enriching challenge that must be taken aboard in ML provision and

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training. Greater awareness among ML providers of, and collaboration with, English

Language and English as an Additional Language (EAL) are also required.

The increasing linguistic awareness among the population, North and South, is

welcome. Allied to this is the recognition of Irish as a working language in the EU and

the Languages Act in the Republic, both of which are essential moves to normalising the

situation of the language. A comparative overview of national language policies

internationally would be welcome and informative. Recent years have seen the

emergence of Language Strategies in these islands. Language strategies have been

produced for England, Wales and Scotland. A Northern Ireland Languages Strategy is in

preparation, as is a University Languages Strategy in QUB, providing a possible

replicable model for other institutions. The Council of Europe Report on languages in the

Republic and papers such as Prof. Little’s report on languages in the post-primary

curriculum point towards similar strategic developments in the Republic.

http://www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/Publications/LanguagesPaper.pdf

Allied to these developments are the Revised Curriculum in Northern Ireland and the

NCCA’s Primary, Junior and senior Cycle reviews in the Republic, with their respective

demands on teachers and teacher educators.

These issues should all be considered in the broad context of recent developments at

national and European level in the area of language policy, provision and support. The

European Union considers modern languages among the basic skills or key

competencies required by all its citizens and is concerned to promote excellence in the

teaching and learning of languages as well as greater diversity in the range of languages

available to learners in the Member States, as witnessed by the recent European

Commission Action Plan, Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: An

Action Plan 2004-2006.

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2003:0449:FIN:EN:PD

F

The Project

Section II of the Commission’s Action Plan report discusses Better Language Teaching

and devotes its Section 3 to Language Teacher Training, where it notes:

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Language teachers may often feel isolated, unaware of developments elsewhere

with the potential to improve their work; they may not have access to adequate

professional support networks; it is therefore important to facilitate contacts and

effective networks between them at a regional, national and European level.

With this in mind, Drs McKendry (QUB) and Farren (NUIG) applied for and received

funding from SCoTENS to organise in Queen’s University Belfast a conference of

language teacher educators, primary and post-primary, north and south, in collaboration

with NICILT, the Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and

Research, housed in the School of Education QUB. http://www.qub.ac.uk/edu/nicilt/

The organisers drew upon the expertise of NICILT’s sister organisations in CILT UK, in

particular that of CILT, the National Centre for Languages in London, the UK

government’s recognised centre of expertise on languages, which includes teacher

education at all levels http://www.cilt.org.uk/. . NICILT was a particularly suitable

venue as, being housed in the School of Education QUB, it also serves as a resources

and support centre for students on the Modern Languages PGCE in QUB, the only post-

primary PGCE for MLs in Northern Ireland.

A particular aim of the conference was to network and encourage collaboration among

the varied sectors represented, North/South, Primary/Post-Primary, Irish/Foreign

Languages, English/ Modern Languages/ English as an Additional language

. ‘Modern Languages’ in Northern Ireland includes Irish, while the distinction is made in

the Republic between Irish and Modern Languages. A combining of resources and

objectives across all languages, including English (Literacy) and English as an Additional

Language was an aim of the conference.

Delegates The partners drew up a list of the institutions in their respective jurisdictions which

provided languages teacher education. While only QUB and its Constituent colleges,

Stranmillis and St. Mary’s, and the Open University deal directly with languages teacher

education in the north, there are many institutions in the south which provide languages

teacher education.

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Modern Languages ITE Courses identified in the Republic of Ireland

Primary

Trinity College, Dublin. ` BEd Primary

“The degree of Bachelor In Education (B.Ed) is a professional degree, which is

intended to provide for the academic and professional requirements of primary

school teachers. It is taught jointly by the School of Education and three

associated Colleges of Education – the Church of Ireland College of Education,

Rathmines, the Froebel College of Education, Sion Hill, Blackrock, and Colaiste

Mhuire, Marino. Students register both with a College of Education and attend

further courses, in common with students from the other Colleges of Education,

within the School of Education”

http://www.tcd.ie/Education/courses/bed.php

Coláiste Mhuire, Marino BEd Primary

The Froebel College of Education BEd Primary

The Church of Ireland College of Education BEd Primary

Mary Immaculate College, Limerick BEd Primary

St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra BEd Primary

University College Cork: PGDE Post-Primary

University College Dublin: PGDE Post-Primary

NUI Galway PGDÉ; DIO Post-Primary

NUI Maynooth PGDE Post-Primary

Trinity College Dublin: PGDip Post-Primary

Dublin City University: GDEd Post-Primary

University of Limerick BSc ; BA Post-Primary

St. Angela’s College, Sligo BEd Post-Primary

Modern Languages ITE Courses identified in Northern Ireland:

St. Mary’s University College: BEd Primary

St. Mary’s University College: PGCE Primary (Irish-Medium)

Stranmillis University College BEd Primary

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Queen University Belfast: PGCE Post-Primary

Open University PGCE Post-Primary

An Integrated Overview

The primary aim of the conference was to bring together Initial Teacher Educators, north

and south, from the various sectors: primary, secondary, foreign languages, Irish. The

growing awareness of multiple literacies to include English mother tongue and English

as an additional language is also recognised and a future meeting could expand more

fully into these areas.

‘Integrated Overviews’ of languages education in the two jurisdictions were given in the

first session of the conference.

Language Education in Northern Ireland

Eugene McKendry of Queen’s University Belfast gave an overview of languages in

Northern Ireland. The retention of the Grammar/Secondary divide meant that traditionally

languages were seen as a grammar school subject although Irish was commonly taught

in Maintained Secondary schools. Languages became compulsory for all pupils from

1992 under the Northern Ireland Curriculum but under curriculum review, became

optional at Key Stage 4 from 2007. Not surprisingly, the numbers taking languages have

fallen. There was an initial rise towards the end of the 1990s with the introduction of

compulsory languages post-primary, but that number is dropping steadily with languages

now optional at KS4. French is still the most widely learnt language although a policy of

diversification from the 1980s has reduced its percentage. Irish is holding its position

despite being in a disadvantaged, indeed discriminated position as schools must provide

another language before offering Irish. This has meant that many Maintained Catholic

secondary schools have had to drop Irish. Spanish has markedly increased its numbers

due to strong marketing and a positive popular perception. German is losing its

popularity and the recent closure of the German department in QUB will reinforce this.

There is a current strategy to promote primary languages in the United Kingdom. All

primary pupils in England will study a foreign language. In Northern Ireland local

promotion of primary languages has been delegated to the Education and Library

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Boards. The main focus is on a peripatetic project for Spanish. The project now includes

Irish and, in the goal of inclusivity, Polish for local children.

The idea of an integrated view of languages provision would cover lifelong language

learning, from the cradle to the grave, as promoted in the European Union’s Lifelong

Learning Programme, but beyond the scope of this conference.

An integrated view would also suggest a strategy. A Languages Strategy for England

was introduced in 2002 and Scotland and Wales have also developed a strategic

approach. We are still waiting for the publication of the Languages Strategy for Northern

Ireland which has been in preparation since 2006.

This document when it eventually appears will be the focus of our attention in the future.

The full paper is included as an appendix

Language Education in the Republic of Ireland

Jacinta McKeon of University College Cork focused on language education at post-

primary where Modern Languages and Irish are seen as two distinct curricular areas.

She presented the current situation in modern languages and Irish, discussing policy,

uptake, syllabus and assessment. The current situation of modern languages and Irish

at primary level was also discussed. The final section of the paper summarised current

issues and challenges.

In post-primary, a modern (foreign) language (MFL) is not a requirement although Irish is

compulsory up to Leaving Certificate. The National University of Ireland’s modern

(foreign) language requirement for matriculation is seen as vital to maintaining the

numbers studying a MFL to Leaving Certificate level.. French is by far the most

commonly learnt language. The Leaving Certificate statistics for 2009 show that 78% of

student studied a MFL, 56% opting for French, 15% for German, 6% for Spanish, 1.5%

for Italian and other languages. Recent trends have shown only slight fluctuation in the

languages chosen.

The Post-Primary Languages Project encourages greater diversification with Russian,

Japanese and Arabic now offered. The Modern Languages in the Primary School

initiative introduced MFLs into the primary school alongside Irish.

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The changing characteristics of learners in a more multicultural environment has brought

greater attention to the needs of pupils for whom English is an additional language.

Many pupils are also recognised as having special needs.

The level of proficiency attained in general is a matter of concern, particularly with Irish.

The lack of an integrated languages policy and the absence of a nationally coordinated

teacher education programme make the opportunities provided by this SCoTENS

conference particularly timely.

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Delegate Input

All institutions except the Open University were requested to fill in a questionnaire

(Appendix 1) prior to attending in order to supply basic data and allow information to be

gathered from institutions unable to attend. Contact has been made with the Open

University Modern Languages coordinator based in England since the conference and

future collaboration has been assured.

Questionnaire returns were received from all institutions except the Church of Ireland

College of Education. All other institutions were able to attend and present their ML

courses, except DCU and Sty Angela’s College, Sligo, both of whose questionnaire

returns provide valuable information. The information contained in the questionnaires

and powerpoints is very rich, covering linguistic and pedagogic aims, course structures

and provision, and research. The questionnaires and powerpoint presentations have all

been loaded on to the conference VLE.

All delegates agreed that there is the basis in the conference inputs from ITE institutions

for a valuable ongoing research project into the current state of Modern Language

teacher education in Ireland, North and South.

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Guest Inputs

EPOSTL

Dr Barry Jones Homerton College Cambridge, spoke on the European Portfolio for

Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL), a document for students undergoing Initial

Teacher Education. EPOSTL encourages students to reflect on their didactic knowledge

and the skills necessary to teach languages. They are helped to assess their own

didactic competences and enabled to monitor their progress and to record their

experiences of teaching during the course of their teacher education.

Main aims of the EPOSTL

1. to encourage student teachers to reflect on the competences a teacher strives to

attain and on the underlying knowledge which feeds these competences;

2. to help prepare them for their future profession in a variety of teaching contexts;

3. to promote discussion between student teachers and their peers and with their

teacher educators and mentors;

4. to facilitate self-assessment of their developing competence;

5. to provide an instrument which helps chart progress.

http://www.ecml.at/mtp2/FTE/html/FTE_E_news.htm

ICT and the new teacher

Edmund Ellison, a recent graduate of the QUB Modern Languages PGCE and currently

following a Masters degree course on Educational Multimedia in QUB, gave a

presentation on “ICT and the Beginning Teacher”, presenting current approaches to

integrating ICT with ML teaching with illustrations from his website supporting Irish

teachers and students usig multimedia resources

www.gaelnet.info

Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and

Research

Participants visited the premises of NICILT where Wendy Phipps, NICILT executive

officer, gave an overview of NICILT’s role and the NICILT resource centre which

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contains a wide range of language teaching materials which are available for group or

individual study and consultation in the Centre.

NICILT is a partnership between CILT the National Centre for Languages (London), and

Queen’s University Belfast with funding from the Department of Education for Northern

Ireland (DE). It is part of a UK-wide network of institutions all offering a range of services

to teachers and learners of modern languages. NICILT aims to serve all sectors and

stages of education in Northern Ireland and support the implementation of national

objectives in language learning and teaching. This includes, where appropriate, support

for early language learning, for the post-16 sector and for adult education.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEducation/NICILT

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Appendix 1

SCoTENS Language Educators Symposium QUB 13-14 November 2009

FRIDAY 13 November

01.00 Buffet Lunch

01.45 Welcome

02.00 Language Education in Northern Ireland. An Integrated View. (EMcK)

02.45 Language Education in the Republic of Ireland. An Integrated View

(JMcK)

03.30 Tea

03.50 Presentation of NICILT (Wendy Phipps)

04.15 Institution Presentations Northern Ireland

Institution Presentations Republic of Ireland (1)

05.30 ICT and the new teacher (Edmund Ellison)

06.00 End Day 1

07.30 Dinner (Deane’s at Queens)

SATURDAY 14 November

09.00 Institution Presentations Republic of Ireland (2)

10.45 Coffee

11.00 Portfolio RoI (Patrick Farren)

11.45 EPoSTL (Barry Jones)

12.30 Discussion

01.00 Clabhsúr

01.00 (Lunch)

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Appendix 2

SCoTENS LANGUAGE EDUCATORS CONFERENCE QUB 13-14 November 2009 Please complete the table below with reference to your own institution Please provide a SEPARATE RESPONSE for each course offered (eg PGCE; BEd; Irish; Modern Languages)

1) Name of your institution:

2) Initial Teacher Education qualification offered (tick all offered):

PGCE □ PGDE □ HDipEd □ BEd □ BA □ Other (Specify) □

Comments

3) Phase:

Primary □ Post-Primary □ Both □

Comments

4) Structure of Languages Initial Teacher Education programme: (eg 2 weeks Primary Placement; 6 weeks in-house; 12 weeks placement; 4 weeks in-house; 12 weeks placement; 1 week inhouse) OR One day per week in placement school, etc.

5) Number of hours per week in language teaching methods:

6) Brief outline of goals and anticipated outcomes of language methods course:

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7) Number of hours, if any, dedicated to development of students’ target language proficiency on course/programme, or any support provided:

8) Number of visits by Supervisor(s) of teaching practice to each student teacher during School Experience attachments:

9) Number of students on ITE Languages Course (per language if possible): 10) Overall number of students on ITE course:

11)Staffing Provision

Teaching Staff

Full Time ____ Part Time ____ Guest Lecturers ____ Comments:

School Placement Supervisors

University Staff ____ Part Time Staff ____

12) Other relevant information: 13) Name and Position of Respondent:

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Appendix 3

VLE Documents

Documents from the conference can be accessed at:

http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B3QYq8r0CZe6ZDAzMjgyZGItYjE3OC00NjRhL

TgyYjgtMTRkM2RjYjI2MWIx&hl=en

Access has been granted to SCoTENS administration.

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Appendix 4

Languages in Northern Ireland – an Integrated View Background

Although its education system has a number of features that distinguish it from

Great Britain, Northern Ireland developed a ‘step by step’ policy with respect to

educational changes introduced by central government for England and Wales.

Scotland long had its own education system.

So the Education Reform Act of 1988 in England was followed by the Education

Reform Order Northern Ireland in 1989

Nevertheless, the NI education system has a number of features that distinguish

it from Great Britain. In particular, selection at age 11, introduced through the

Education Acts of the 1940s and mostly abandoned in favour of a comprehensive

system in Britain in the 1960s, has been retained in Northern Ireland. The

Transfer Test, popularly called the 11+ examination, divides pupils between the

roughly 30-35% who are accepted into Grammar schools, and the rest who

attend Secondary, formerly called ‘Intermediate’, schools, with a few

Comprehensive schools.

While the secondary schools are mixed ability and many achieve very good

GCSE results and some offer A-levels, they cater in general for the less-

academically inclined pupils, and also for a lower income population. This is

clearly seen in the Free School Meals statistics. As well as pupil capabilities,

parental aspiration, large-scale coaching, and Bernstein’s educability all play a

role in success in the selection examinations.

The transfer arrangements are currently under review.

The other distinguishing feature is the religious divide in education. State or

controlled primary, Grammar and Secondary schools cater predominately for the

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Protestant community, while the Maintained sector makes similar provision for

the Catholic community. There is also the Integrated sector, which was set up in

the 1970s to promote more harmonious relations between the Protestant and

Catholic communities through educating children together. The post-primary

Integrated sector is non-selective, and attracts pupils who fail to get a Grammar

school place. The number of pupils attending Integrated schools circa 6%

Finally, Irish-medium schools have emerged in Northern Ireland over the last 30

years, with over 4000 pupils attending Irish-medium nursery, primary and post-

primary schools.

Another distinguishing feature is the position of the Irish language, which as an

indigenous minority language has no equivalent in England, although it can be

compared to some extent with the so-called community languages in Britain,

Urdu, Chinese, etc, a population which has recently become a factor here in

Northern Ireland as well, and of course with Welsh and Gaidhlig in Wales and

Scotland.

A problem for Irish is that while in the Catholic community there exists a

widespread belief in the validity and importance of Irish, in contrast, there is an

enduring suspicion and antipathy surrounding the language among the wider

Unionist, Protestant community, to the extent that the language was dubbed the

‘green litmus test’ of community relations (Cultural Traditions Group, 1994: 6).

Unfortunately, other than some Integrated schools, not a single non-Catholic

school offers Irish.

Northern Ireland Curriculum

It is somewhat surprising to realise that before the introduction of the National

Curriculum, the only compulsory subject in schools was religious Education,

although society’s expectations and exam specifications produced the curriculum

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we were familiar with –all schools also offered English, Maths, and a range of

other subjects. But until the 1960s in the UK,

‘the learning of languages had been the preserve of the Grammar schools’. The

change to comprehensive schools in Britain in the 1960s led to the emergence of

a ‘Languages for All’ policy with languages made available across the ability

range in post-primary schools.

In Northern Ireland, the retention of the Grammar/Secondary divide meant that

traditionally only the Grammar school minority of pupils studied a second

language, mostly French, although Irish was commonly taught in Maintained

Secondary schools, as well as in all Catholic Grammar schools. The ‘Languages

for All’ philosophy was adopted in Northern Ireland’s post-primary schools as

well, with mixed results.

In Britain, ‘for many pupils the experience of language learning did not incline

them to continue once the subject became optional, and around 70% of all pupils

abandoned the learning of a foreign language by the age of fourteen.

In Northern Ireland, the drop-off was notable in the non-Grammar schools. The

Northern Ireland Inspectorate reported in 1990 that while a majority of pupils

embarked upon language studies in Year 1 post-primary, by Year 3 only one-

quarter of these schools provided modern languages for all pupils (DENI, 1990:

§4.45).

But the Education Reform Order of 1989 laid the ground for the gradual

introduction of a common Northern Ireland Curriculum. From 1992 Languages

became mandatory for all pupils at Key stages 3 and 4, that is up to GCSE at 16.

The original intention was that a foreign language, chosen from French, German

or Spanish, must be studied, after which Irish could be offered. This would have

led to the marginalization and eventual disappearance of Irish from the school

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system, particularly in the Secondary schools. The rationale was utilitarian,

intending to ensure [quote]

“that Northern Ireland pupils, no less than their peers in the rest of the United

Kingdom, should be able to compete as equals with their European counterparts

in an increasingly international job market”

It is important to recall today that languages were introduced for the sake of the

economy, not for cultural or personal interest reasons. This calls into question the

wisdom of current patterns where German is disappearing from our schools.

The government was eventually persuaded to move, grudgingly, on the position

of Irish and the then Minister of Education, Dr Mawhinney, announced that the

legislation would [quote]

“require all secondary schools to provide one or more of French, German,

Spanish or Italian, so that all pupils will have the option available to them in their

own school to acquire competence in one of these major European Community

working languages. A school may, if it wishes, offer Irish in addition to these”

While this improved upon the original proposals, it meant nevertheless that many

secondary schools had to stop offering Irish as they could not maintain two

languages.

But from1995 every post-primary pupil studied a language from 11 to 16, up to

GCSE.

The National and Northern Irish Curricula were strictly prescribed. Programmes

of study were devised for each subject. The modern languages specifications

followed a common Functional Notional syllabus for all the languages, regardless

of linguistic particularities, and was based upon a version of Communicative

Language Teaching which paid little attention to linguistic form.

The Curriculum Council for Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) undertook a

programme of monitoring and research. A major research project was carried out

by the National Foundation for Educational Research between 1996 and 2000. It

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was designed to discover the views of Key Stage 3 pupils (age 11-14) and their

teachers on the curriculum.

In summary, these studies suggested that pupils considered that the curriculum

• Lacked balance and breadth

• Should be more relevant and enjoyable

The studies suggested that teachers felt that there was:

• Too much emphasis on content

• Too little emphasis on emotional, social, cultural and moral development

Languages in general did not come out well. Their perceptions included:

Modern Languages and the creative arts were consistently seen as the subjects

least useful for the future. They were also perceived as the least important for

pupils’ current needs

The follow-up report on the Key stage 4 cohort reported pupils’ views that

“Languages were thought to be not useful”, while on continuity and progression

“Irish doesn’t, but the rest follow-on”

In addition to the NFER studies, other emerging influences included studies on

thinking skills and neuroscience, ICT initiatives, European trends and advice from

the business and employment sector. Taking these concerns into consideration,

CCEA set about designing the revised NI Curriculum.

After a contested consultation, proposals for review of curriculum and

assessment at Key Stage 3 were published in 2003 as Pathways. These were

extremely radical and it was not until 2006 that the Revised NI Curriculum was

published. In the meantime there had also been a process of curriculum review in

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Britain which took aboard many of the innovative proposals of Pathways, but

progressed more coherently from the National Curriculum.

Phased implementation of the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum started in

September 2007.

Hand out Big Picture

Traditional Subjects are now arranged into Areas of Learning, one of which is

modern Languages

(ML MFL n/s)

The arts covers Art and design, Drama, and Music,

Environment and Society covers History and Geography

Mathematics and Numeracy is now Mathematics with Financial capability.

POINTING TO BIG PICTURE

LINE1 The revised curriculum aims to empower young people to achieve their

potential and to make informed and responsible decisions throughout their lives

LINE 2 as an individual, a contributor to the economy and the environment.

LINE 3 This is to be achieved by introducing Learning for Life and Work at the

top level, comprising Personal Development, Home Economics, Local and Global

Citizenship and Employability.

All other learning areas contribute to Learning for Life and Work through the

emphasis on Connected Learning and Cross-Curricular Skills.

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In contrast to the close specification of the previous curriculum, the revised

curriculum is much more open to individual interpretation and is summarised on

one page.

Each subject strand in the Revised curriculum is set out on terms of how it

contributes to the objectives in the Revised curriculum. The ststutory curriculum

for each subject strand is set out as ‘Statements oof Minimum Requirement’ and

makes reference to ‘Key Elements’ of the curriculum such as Mutual

Understanding, Ethical Awareness and Education for Sustainable Development.

The statements of minimum requirement are the compulsory elements of the

curriculum in terms of knowledge and understanding, curriculuk objectives, key

elements and learning outcomes which must be taught.

Aside from these statements, teachers can choose the content they feel best

suits their teaching context.

This individual focus and flexibility immediately raises questions about

assessment. GCSEs are still to be sat at the end of KS4 and teachers, pupils,

parents want to know what is needed for the examination.

There has been much activity around this as you can imagine and new

specifications for GCSE were published by CCEA earlier this year. There is now

an element of controlled assessment, marked by the teacher, reflecting the

individuality and flexibility, and moderated by CCEA.

I have put this on to the Google VLE I’ll be discussing later.

• Unit 1- Speaking (30%)

Candidates complete 2 controlled assessment tasks

Each worth 30 marks

Teachers mark tasks

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CCEA moderates marking

Available every summer from 2010

The GCSE examination is a summative assessment., an Assessment of

Learning. (AfL) The revised curriculum places great store however on

Assessment for Learning (AfL).

AfL is encouraged by the Revised Curriculum and includes building a more open

relationship between learner and teacher, clear learning intentions

shared with pupils, peer and self assessment, peer and self evaluation

of learning and individual target setting.

It is not, however, statutory:

While the Revised Curriculum does not require you to integrate AfL practices into

your classrooms, we strongly recommend the use of AfL as best practice.. The

introduction and regular use of AfL in the classroom can help you to fulfil other

statutory components of the Revised Curriculum (like Thinking Skills and

Personal Capabilities .....In addition, AfL offers significant advantages for pupils

(CCEA The Revised Curriculum

2007)

The GCSE and post-16 examinations are recognised as barometers of assessing

achievement, but they are also useful indicators of language health and

outcomes in our schools.

But such outcomes should be seen in a wider perspective.

The 2000 Nuffield Languages Inquiry reports that, in terms of linguistic

competence, the UK is 'doing badly'. As each language valiantly fights its own

corner, we are losing the greater battle: 'We talk about communication but don’t

always communicate. There is enthusiasm for languages but it is patchy.

Educational provision is fragmented, achievement poorly measured, continuity

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not very evident. In the language of our time, there is a lack of joined-up thinking'

(Nuffield 2000:5).

This holds true for Northern Ireland as well.

However, the most significant development in the last decade has been that

languages are no longer compulsory at Key stage 4, 14 years to 16. This has

been the case in England since 2002, and in Northern Ireland since 2007. In

other words, pupils are now only required to do 3 years of modern language

study in post-primary education – the lowest compulsory language education in

Europe.

There is still an area within the curriculum called MFL in England, “Modern

Languages” in Northern Ireland to allow for Irish, but within this area, there are

the competing language subjects of French, German, Spanish, Irish, where the

various languages are joined in an internecine competition for a shrinking slice of

a crowded timetable. It reminds me of ‘Cogadh na gCarad, the War of Friends,

Civil War..

If Nuffield identified a lack of ‘joined-up thinking’ in 2000, the Curriculum Review

process since that date displays policy contradiction. The 1980s and 1990s

promoted ‘Languages for All’ and ‘Diversification’, but Curriculum Review

portends a U-turn. Languages are no longer compulsory at Key stage 4. The

internet in particular and globalisation in general has led more people to believe

that ‘English is enough’ and languages have lost out in the timetable.

It would also be naïve to believe that the whole staffroom shares the linguists

concerns about the pressure on languages. Northern Ireland has retained

selection at age 11, and so we have a Grammar/Secondary school divide. In

most secondary school staffrooms you will find teachers who welcome languages

becoming optional, since many pupils find languages difficult and results are

relatively poor – and this includes many language teachers who find teaching to

lesser able, demotivated pupils stressful and a strain. I feel this is partly due to

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the way in which the so-called Communicative approach to language teaching,

as it was enshrined in our programmes of study, has become boring and

burdensome for pupils across the ability range. As we have seen languages

came out badly in the NFER and CCEA longitudinal research, based mostly on

pupils’ views.

The numbers taking languages has fallen

Number of GCSE entries by language (percentage change over period in

brackets)

French Irish Spanish German Italian

1996 13838 2021 1561 1496 156

1997 13275 2171 1737 1371 128

1998 13213 2180 1801 1380 93

1999 13195 2350 2105 1390 109

2000 13318 2484 1987 1489 199

2001 13394 2452 2444 1412 207

2002 13099 2638 2639 1390 164

2003 12478

(-9%)

2641

(+30%)

3013

(+94%)

1244

(-16%)

163

(+5%)

2004 12436 2530 2945 1266 151

2005 11239 2248 3132 1315 137

2006 10658 2258 2848 1264 114

2007 10415 2446 3046 1203 79

2008 9008

(-35%)

2147

(+6%)

3232

(+107%)

1204

(-20%)

38

(-76%)

We can see similar patterns in the UK as a whole.

25

French Spanish German

2000 341004 49973 133659

2001 347007 54326 135113

2002 338468 57983 126216

2003 331089 61323 125663

2004 318095 64078 122023

2005 272140 62456 105288

2006 236189 62143 90311

2007 216718 63978 81061

2008 201940 67092 76695

2009 188688

(-55%)

67070

(+35%)

73469

(-45%)

http://www.jcq.org.uk/national_results/gcses/

GCSE National Statistics (England, Wales, Northern Ireland)

We have seen the overall drop in languages Nationally in the UK, and locally in

Northern Ireland, but while the general trends are similar there are some

important local differences which make the Northern Ireland experience

significant.

First of all, we still have the 11+, with selection at Age 11. The successful pupils

go to grammar schools, which have always had a strong reputation for

supporting languages. Other pupils go to secondary schools where the language

tradition has not been so strong. Since languages became optional in Northern

Ireland in 2007, there has been an almost calamitous withdrawal from languages

in secondary schools at age 14. Most alarmingly, grammar schools are now

withdrawing from compulsory languages in Key Stage 4, age 14-16.

In the summer of 2007, in anticipation of languages becoming optional at KS4

and the introduction of the Revised Curriculum at KS3, NICILT carried out an

audit of post-primary ML provision, where a clear distinction could be drawn

between language provision in secondary and grammar schools.

I received this letter from a Grammar school headmaster in June.

26

Hello Eugene, As a committed European and a committed linguist I am increasingly concerned at the rapid drop in interest in the “traditional” modern languages and I know this concern is shared by other grammar school principals. We are beginning to wonder if, for example, French still deserves to hold a slot in the regular timetable, or should it be offered as an extra-curricular activity. I hear students question why we are not offering Polish and they argue that it would be more useful to them than French. As schools move on to provide the 24 subjects at GCSE and 27 at A level (which will be required by law from 2013) perhaps modern languages will struggle to attract the interest of pupils who have other options available to them. Maybe its time to inject a fresh approach, to give pupils “tasters” of other European and world languages, to help them appreciate the relevance and value of certain languages – rather than force-feeding French and producing the resistance so evident in so many schools these days.

We have seen the 107% increase in Spanish GCSE in Northern Ireland over the

last 12 years and the 35% increase nationally. The reasons are many: the

weather and holiday homes with cheap flights; the Beckham factor when David

Beckham moved to Real Madrid. There is also the Spanish government policy of

promoting Spanish globally; there is also the belief that Spanish is easier than

other languages “El espanol es facil” is the motto, with the subtext that other

languages are more difficult.

The role of government policy and cultural institute support is vital. French

cultural institutions have been quietly working as before, the Goethe Institut

moved much of its activities to eastern Europe with the fall of the Berlin Wall, and

the language has suffered in our schools as a result. Irish has been hidebound

by the political appointees approach to Foras na Gaeilge, and Spanish support

for their language is remarkable. The policy is strong and the money and

resources are available.

27

However, foreign cultural institute and agency support depends upon local

support as well.

There is a current movement to promote primary languages in the United

Kingdom. In England, all KS2 pupils will be entitled to study a foreign language

by 2010. In Northern Ireland, local implementation and support has been

delegated to the Education and Library Boards.

CCEA website Primary

The main focus currently is on a peripatetic project for Spanish. When I asked

one of the board officials concerned why French was being ignored in the project,

I was told

“French has had its chance. It’s time to do something else”

The project now includes Irish, and in the goal of inclusivity, Polish for local

children. The difficulty about this is that since this policy was introduced last year,

many of the Polish children have now gone back to Poland,

Moving from primary to Higher Education, I can only mention that this university

is in the process of closing down its German department. I wrote a letter of

concern to the vice-chancellor in my NICILT capacity, and was reassured that

German is available in the Languages Centre and that students are encouraged

to follow a course there or access its self-tutoring resources.

The idea of an integrated view of languages provision would cover lifelong

language learning, from the cradle to the grave, as promoted in the European

Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme, but beyond our scope today.

An integrated view would also suggest a strategy. A Languages Strategy for

England was introduced in 2002, and strategies have also been produced for

Scotland and Wales. We are waiting [o, why are we waiting] for the publication of

the Languages Strategy for Northern Ireland which has been brewing since 2006.

This document when it eventually appears will be the focus of our attention in the

future.