An investigation into teachers' attitudes towards the teaching of modern foreign languages in the primary school

Teaching modern foreign languages in multilingual classrooms: an examination of Key Stage 2 teachers’ experiences

“…All teachers interviewed perceived the subject as one which is overshadowed by other priorities within the school and is therefore often absent from discussions in day-to-day school life, as well as from the overarching educational discourse. This perception of 'overcrowding' is well represented in the literature (Legg 2013;McLachlan 2009) and may well be further exacerbated by teacher perceptions of their current workload. 93% of teachers in 2016 reported that excessive workload was a serious problem in their school (Higton et al 2017).…”

“…However, this advantage has been debated, with other studies finding EAL children performing at an equal or lower level than their peers on metalinguistic tasks (Bialystok 2001;Simard, Fortier and Foucambert 2013). Therefore, although teachers may worry about EAL pupils coping with a new language before they have an adequate skill in English (Legg 2013), the possibility that their multilingualism could in fact equip them with the skills to excel as foreign language learners should be considered.…”

“…From the outset, trainee teachers' subject knowledge is the most influential factor on their subsequent confidence teaching MFL (Barnes 2006). For in-service teachers, the demographics of the school, and the burden of time needed to teach and plan for an additional subject, are additional obstacles (Legg 2013). Finally, the status given to MFL by the individual school is also a factor; without the support and enthusiasm of the management to provide training and resources, it is difficult for MFL to be truly integrated into the primary curriculum (Legg 2013).…”

“…Although links between MFL teaching practices and other subjects, such as literacy, have been made (Maynard 2012), teachers appear aware of a uniqueness within MFL teaching that they may not feel prepared for due to a possible lack of linguistic competence as well as the more ludic nature of many MFL activities. Therefore, support from leadership teams and CPD opportunities are paramount (Barnes 2006;Legg 2013). Furthermore, by more effectively integrating MFL into the curriculum and encouraging a whole-school approach to languages with increased cross-curricular learning, for example, the anxiety experienced by teachers could be reduced (Barnes 2015;Jones and Coffey 2017).…”

“…Effective and enthusiastic leadership with investment in suitable training appears paramount if primary MFL is to transition into a mainstay of the curriculum (Board and Tinsley 2014;Legg 2013). If managerial teams were prompted by national initiatives to perceive MFL as integral to primary school education, as is the case for the promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects by the Primary Science Quality Mark®, teachers might be more motivated to engage with the subject and deliver higher quality, consistent teaching.…”