How to boost languages in schools

John Claughton, former chief master, King Edward’s School, Birmingham; Graham Smith, director, EAL Academy; Dr Robert Sharples, lecturer in language and education, Bristol University; and Steffan Griffiths, head, Norwich School, argue that the problems with languages do not lie in secondary schools but in primary schools, Writing in the Times, they claim that “in the latter provision is variable in quality, quantity and content and this makes a coherent transition to secondary schools almost impossible.” To start turning the language tide, they propose, could be in creating a primary language programme that, rather than teaching a single language, teaches how languages work and relate to each other, how they link with other subjects, and what they tell us about our diverse history and culture.
Source: The Times