1+2 Approach – Language Learning in Scotland

(Notes taken from https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0039/00393435.pdf)

• Children’s mother tongue with the addition of two other languages is recommended by the European Union and has already been implemented in other countries around the world.
• There has been a “significant and worrying” decline in the last decade of pupils continuing their learning of languages to SQA level.
• Young people are not being challenged or motivated enough whilst learning a new language.
• The need for young people to learn additional languages will become increasingly important as the world becomes more globalised.

In order to deliver this framework:

• An additional language needs to be introduced at an earlier stage in primary school.
• Needs to be an enhanced partnership working between primary and secondary schools.
• Needs to be a closer collaboration across all sectors of the curriculum.
• More use of technology when teaching/learning a new language.
• Regular access to native and fluent speakers to stimulate interest in learning language and other cultures.

Why does learning language matter?

• Life enhancing
• Opens doors to experiences which are not usually available to those with only one language
• Enhances understanding of L1
• Enable young people to participate fully in a global society and economy
• Learning a language relates to the 4 main objectives in primary school (effective contributor, confident individual, successful learner, responsible citizen).
• Business community recognises the importance of communicating in another language of potential clients.
• ‘damaging perception’ that we don’t need to speak another language because everyone speaks English, has to be challenged.

• The Working Group believes that the 1+2 approach is for all young people wherever they live in Scotland, urban or rural, schools big or small.
• So much of children’s’ communication is in English (with their families and social media etc) that it does not seem as important to learn another language.
• Only 6% of the world’s population has English as their L1.
• English represented 51% of language usage on the internet but by 2011 this was down to 27%.

Starting Young

• Lots of evidence to prove that young children learn languages more easily than older learners – mental flexibility.
• Can enhance natural curiosity
• Help to foster a positive attitude towards languages
• Learning French, German, Italian and Spanish will continue to hold its importance.

Challenges

• Staffing, training and funding issues
• Other curricular areas seen as more important to teachers
• Teachers not confident enough to teach another language or deliver lessons

• The best lessons include a variety of approaches such as games, songs, direct teaching, group and paired work.
• Most effective teaching is where teachers implement language learning across the curriculum and not just in their allocated time slot for modern languages.
• Learning about the culture of a country frequently arouses enthusiasm for learning the language.
• Challenges for introducing L3 are similar to those for L2 (staffing, funding, training).

Time Allocation

• The Working Group does not recommend a fixed number of hours for the learning of language in primary schools.
• Building blocks of language learning into the daily routine for learners, plus the use of the target language across other aspects of learning can avoid the danger that a ‘language hour’ is the first to go when there are timetabling issues.