Towards ‘MFL for all’ in England: a historical perspective

Abstract

This article considers the provision of modern foreign languages (MFL) in England since the 1970s in the context of wider curricular change and also taking into account Europe-wide developments in MFL. It charts the changes implemented over almost three decades to England's National Curriculum for MFL at secondary level (from ages 11 to 16) and highlights the significant roleparticularly before 2010of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools (HMI) in evaluating curricular innovation and support for MFL teacher development. Perennial issues over this period include: the range of languages studied; the gender bias in the uptake of MFL; the low uptake of MFL after the age of 14; use of the target language and the role of grammar. The article highlights the limitations for MFL in England resulting from restricted time allocations; the lack of coherence and continuity in policy implementation; and the recent loss of support infrastructure for MFL teachers. Finally, the author reflects on the UK's participation in Council of Europe and European Union projects and the extent to which MFL in England has been influenced by these.

Foreign and Bilingual Language Education in the UK and Spain: A Study of Similarities and Differences

“…), language education in the UK is somewhat like that of Spain, as both countries students can learn at least two MFLs; furthermore, CLIL can also be found in the UK, mainly in England. Despite the differences in the way foreign and bilingual language education are provided in both contexts, the UK and Spain do not differ much in theory; in both contexts, for instance, the attempts to foster language proficiency have increased significantly since the 1990s and early 2000s (see Dobson, 2018;McLelland, 2018). In practice, however, more institutional efforts are needed in the UK to overcome the commonly accepted lack of interest in languages and the poor language skills so as to eradicate the 'climate of negativity' and consequent loss of confidence of British learners toward languages (Graham & Santos, 2015;Schulzke, 2014).…”

“…CILT supported language teaching from 1966 to 2011 by promoting research in the field, creating materials to help teachers, and monitoring trends in language teaching, among other actions (McLelland, 2018). Likewise, the establishment of specialist Language Colleges in 1995 and the National Languages Strategy developed in England from 2002 to 2010 (Department for Education and Skills, 2002), although there are attempts to develop a new one (The British Academy, 2020), provided not only teachers with access to information, advice, and training about language teaching but also set out structured and progressive objectives for MFL teaching for students, who were granted access to a wide range of languages (Dobson, 2018). Other more recent government-funded initiatives include the Teaching Schools Council review (Teaching Schools Council, 2016), the National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy (Department for Education, n. d.), and the Mandarin Excellence Programme (Department for Education, 2018).…”

“…The UK's history in language education was discussed by Vidal (2017), McLelland (2018, and Dobson (2018). Vidal (2017) reviewed the main concerns about the drop in the numbers of MFL learners and investigated the factors affecting the uptake of MFLs in secondary education in the UK, pointing out students' feelings of not being good enough at languages as the main cause.…”

“…McLelland ( 2018) provided a review of Britain's MFL provision, analysing the history of language learning and teaching, the languages commonly learnt (generally French), and changes that have led to the current situation. Dobson (2018) analysed the provision and evolution of foreign language teaching in England since the 1970s, highlighting issues such as the preponderance of French, German, and Spanish among the range of languages studied, the higher proportion of female students taking MFL lessons as opposed to males, the low take-up rates of languages after the age of 14, the uncertainty of many teachers "about the place of grammar and its relationship to communication" (p. 77), the lack of continuity in the implementation of language policies, and the participation and influence of the UK in European projects, among other aspects.…”

Socio-economic factors, school type and the uptake of languages: Northern Ireland in the wider UK context

“…Historically, language study in the UK has been considered the preserve of the elite and until the 1960s, access to qualifications in modern languages across the UK was limited to those attending private or grammar schools (McLelland 2018). Despite major changes towards 'democratisation' of language learning through developments such as comprehensivisation in the 1970s and the introduction of a common curriculum (Education Reform Act 1988; The Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989) where a modern language was compulsory until age 16, concerns persisted about equitable provision for all pupils (Dobson 2018;McKendry 2016;McLelland 2018). The decision to shorten the period of compulsory language learning in 2004 appears not only to have accelerated a decline in uptake but also to have (re-)entrenched social inequalities (Dearing and King 2007).…”