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The Context of COLT

The Context of COLT. Richard Towell Chair National Steering Group Routes into Languages. Issue. The position of Languages in the UK education system. Does/Will the nation possess the capability in languages it needs for its economic and social well-being?

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The Context of COLT

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  1. The Context of COLT • Richard Towell • Chair National Steering Group • Routes into Languages

  2. Issue • The position of Languages in the UK education system. • Does/Will the nation possess the capability in languages it needs for its economic and social well-being? • All languages not some languages

  3. What has happened to Languages in UK education? • Decline over a number of years • Succession of reports: Nuffield (2000,2003), National Languages Strategy (2002) NLS in HE - Footit (2005), Dearing (2007), Worton 2009 • Revision of the Curriculum (2002) making languages optional beyond age 14 (KS4)

  4. Percentage entered for at least one language at GCSE (All schools- CILT) • Proportion of KS4 pupils • 1997: 71% • 2001: 78% • 2006: 50% • 2007: 46% • 2008: 44% • 2009: 44%

  5. Numbers of pupils entered for at least one language at GCSE • 2001: 473 000 (78% of cohort) • 2006: 327 000 (50% of cohort) • 2009: 278 800 (44% of cohort) • i.e. 194 200 or 41% fewer in 8 years

  6. Language Entries 2001 -2009: Decreases (JCQ exam entries) • 2001 2009 % • Bengali 2 251 1 407 -37% • Fr ench 350 227 188 688 -46% • German 136 437 73 469 -46% • Gujurati. 1 459 814 -44% • Italian 5 714 5 416 -5% • Panjabi 1 580 1 041 -34% • Urdu 6 898 5 587 -19%

  7. Language GCSE entries 2001 – 2009: increases (JCQ exam entries) • 2001 2009 % • Spanish 54 787 67 070 +22% • Persian 257 482 +87% • Chinese 2 320 3 469 +49% • Arabic 1 405 3 130 +122% • Polish 275 3 649 +1226% • Portuguese 1 803 1 958 +10%

  8. A level entries 1996- 2009 (CILT Trends Analysis) • All languages 1996: 39 554 • 2009: 29 542 • All languages a fall of 25% • French fell by 46% • German fell by 45% • Spanish increased by 49% • Other languages increased by 77%

  9. Relative numbers for A level entries 2009 • French 12 238 • German 5 122 • Spanish 6 092 • Other languages 6 090

  10. Variation by kind of school • Average for Private Schools 90%+ • Average for Maintained Schools 43%

  11. Regional Variation: Maintained • Proportion of Pupils taking at least one language GCSE in 2006-7 • North East 33% East 44% • North West 41% London 49% • Yorkshire/Humber38% South East 49% • East Midlands 44% South West45% • West Midlands 40% Average 43%

  12. Local Variation: Maintained • North West: • Trafford 61% Oldham 32% • Bury 57% Rochdale 32% • Sefton 53% Manchester 28% • Stockport 48% Knowsley 27% • Warrington 48% Halton 27% • Lancashire 45% Salford 25%

  13. Current Position for Language Study • Less than half of the population studies languages beyond age 14 • In some areas of the NW this can be as low as 25% • A significant proportion of those who do continue with language study tend to be privately educated • The remaining degree courses are mainly in Russell group universities (Worton)

  14. Does this matter? • ‘The decline in modern language learning • in England is a cause for concern for a • variety of reasons. If not arrested, it will • lead to the UK becoming one of the most • monolingual countries in the world’ • Worton 2009 para 195

  15. Does this matter? • British ‘monolingual’ nationals may be at a disadvantage in an increasingly globalised labour market. • The economy, which must be export led, may achieve less because individuals are insufficiently aware of the nature of international demand and less able to communicate with the leaders of that demand.

  16. Does this matter? • It is not good for languages to become a ‘middle class subject’ • A lack of familiarity with other cultures may breed greater insularity. • A multicultural Britain may lack social cohesion if the majority of the population is monolingual.

  17. Barriers • A basic belief that English is more important and/or English is enough • An uncertainty about what other language(s) to learn • A belief that language learning is difficult • A belief that learning one language militates against learning/developing another

  18. Responses to these ‘barriers’ • English is not enough: only a small proportion of the population of other countries have learnt English and they have done so for their economic advantage, not ours. • Seize every opportunity to learn any language and learn it to the highest level you can • If almost all other countries can learn English to some degree, it can’t be that difficult. South Africa has 11 official languages.. • Learning languages is an ‘additive’ process

  19. Practical Steps to overcome these barriers • National Languages Strategy: Diplomas, New Syllabus • Plan for obligatory languages in primary schools from 2011 (92% offering langs in 2009) • 380 Specialist Language Colleges • Language entitlement: 50%-90% benchmark requested by government

  20. Practical Steps • Government benchmark: 50% -90% • Difficult to achieve given • a) attitudes to languages • b) the way the curriculum is now organised • BUT HEFCE and DCSF initiatives • a) Routes (including COLT) • b) Our Languages

  21. Routes into Languages as a Practical Step • Two years of collaboration • 9 Regional Consortia • 2 National Networks • 3 Research Projects • One on community languages

  22. Two years of partnership • LLAS, CILT, UCML • HEFCE, DCSF, DBIS, HEFCW • Aimhigher, Action on Access, SQW • Widening participation units, employers, teachers, parents….

  23. Two years of achievement • A national programme delivered regionally • Increasing uptake • Improving employability

  24. Two years of achievement • Web resources • Publications • Activities • School visits • Workshops • Conferences • Taster days • Fun

  25. Two years of achievement • 76 universities • 1,221 schools • 382 undergraduate student ambassadors • 27,431 school pupils

  26. Yorkshire Humberside • Marina Mozzon-McPherson

  27. South West • Languages and Work Paul Holdsworth

  28. Visit the Website • www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk

  29. Enhancing Community Languages as a Practical Step: The resource • Numbers of children whose first language is • known to or believed to be not English: • 466,420 Primary School (14.3%) • 394,040 Secondary School (10.6%) • (Source: Annual School Census 2008)

  30. Numbers Breakdown: No of speakers of top 15 languages already in schools = pool of talent • Panjabi 102,570 Turkish 16,460 • Urdu 85,250 Tamil 16,460 • Bengali 70,320 French 15,310 • Gujarati 40,880 Yoruba 13,920 • Somali 32,030 Chinese 13,380 • Polish 26,840 Spanish 10,000 • Arabic 25,800 Persian 8,510 • Portuguese 16,560

  31. Community Languages Research Report: Learning Issues • Community language learners are often highly motivated • Community language learners are not always convinced of the value, status or ‘usefulness’ of the language they are learning/have learnt. • Levels attained need to be recognised by recognised qualifications. • A number of people see the maintenance or acquisition of the community language as in competition with the acquisition of English. • Community language learners have a partial knowledge of the language they are learning which makes it difficult to assimilate them into standard ‘foreign language classes’.

  32. Community Languages Report: Teaching Issues • Community language teachers are in short supply and not always ‘qualified’ according to UK standards. • There is a shortage of schemes enabling potential teachers to acquire any missing skills, including teaching placement issues • There is a shortage of good teaching materials for community languages. • Low pay, precarious contracts and status are important issues for teachers and translator/interpreters of community languages.

  33. Community Languages Report: Institutional Issues • There are no degree courses in any of the major community languages. IWLP provision is not always well adapted to community language learners. • HEIs will only be motivated to put on programmes in community languages when they are convinced that there is sufficient demand. • Mainstreaming community language education

  34. Attempts to promote Community Languages • Our Languages • COLT • Work reported on here

  35. Becoming a community languages teacher • Our languages: Nazek Abdelhay

  36. Progress? • Slowly but surely the issues are being recognised and practical steps taken. • A significant number of issues remain to be resolved BUT • We now understand what is needed to resolve them

  37. Progress? • Community Languages are not a ‘local’ issue: they are a major part of the national issue. The debate must be about high achievement in all languages and community languages have a key role to play.

  38. Salaries • Mean salary of language graduates 3 years after graduation is £26, 823 ahead of that of graduates in Engineering, Maths, Sciences, Physics, Astronomy and Chemistry. • 74% of UK employers are looking for language skills.

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