Author: jonathanmcbrideff3d47ea1d

“So you’re a languages teacher? I learned French at school, but I can’t say a word now…”

If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard someone say that, I’d be, well, quite rich indeed. According to the British Council, two in three Britons are unable to hold a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue, and the lack of language skills in the UK workforce is detrimental to the UK’s strategic and economic interests. The lack of language skills within the UK workforce is estimated to cost the UK 3.5 % of GDP per year.

If you are someone who had the opportunity to learn a language at school, you are part of a dwindling group in the UK. Recent trends in languages learning in UK school is alarming, with French and German entries at GCSE declining year on year. This decline means that fewer Britons will have the intercultural insight and knowledge that comes with learning a language, as well as being less literate than their counterparts in other countries who speak two more languages. For anyone who cares about how our young people’s ability to navigate a complex world or to engage with difference, this is a worrying trend.

In Scotland we are fortunate to have a vibrant ecosystem of passionate teachers, academics and various other organisations who go to great lengths to promote the uptake of languages in our schools. I’m thinking of the Scottish Association of Language Teachers (SALT), SCILT Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, our excellent universities, the various government consolates and cultural institutes such as the Goethe Institut and the Institut Français, to name just a few.

The enthusiasm and drive to boost language learning are clearly there. But I can’t help but feel that what we offer our young people in the classroom falls short of our aspirations. What and how our students are learning is arguably the most important factor in how motivated they will be to learn another language, yet it’s also one of the most difficult things to change. Education systems are complex and are deeply entwined with and constrained by the values of a society, deeply held teacher beliefs, traditions and organisational structures. For the busy teacher (and let’s not forget that Scottish teachers are amongst the busiest in the developed world), day to day survival is paramount. It’s difficult to find the time or energy to stand back and actually think deeply about our practice, let alone make the changes we know are necessary.

In my quest for inspiration, I stumbled across Dr Liam Printer’s podcast for languages teachers, The Motivated Classrooma few years ago. Liam is a teacher of Spanish and English at the International School of Lausanne in Switzerland and completed a doctorate focused on the motivational impact of teaching languages through input-driven activities such as co-created storytelling. His podcast is a treasure trove of insight into the research around languages acquisition (SLA) and motivation in languages learning, and provides loads of practical tips for languages lessons.

Liam’s podcast led me to south-west France, where I started attending The Agen Workshop, an international conference that brings together teachers from all over the world to learn about and explore comprenhension-based approaches to language teaching. I met many inspiring languages teachers who had one thing in common: a desire to teach languages in a way that is inspiring and that motivates learners to develop the ability to communicate effectively.

Subsequently, I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake a research project in languages teaching and pedagogy. As part of this Fellowship I’ll be spending time observing teaching and learning in four secondary schools in Canada, Switzerland and Germany. In all of these schools I’ll be observing teachers who are using comprehension-based strategies in their teaching. Comprehension-based teaching (sometimes called CI – Comprehensible Input – teaching) draws on the research of SLA scholars such as Stephen Krashen and Bill Van Patten who argue that we learn language primarily by understanding messages we hear and read (“comprehensible input”). Rather than starting with explicit grammar instruction, the teacher might use stories and narrative as a way to increase the amount of input learners receive. Co-created stories, “story listening”, graded readers and extensive free voluntary reading are some more examples of strategies comprehension-based teachers may use.

I’m seriously excited to have the opportunity to learn from other teachers in a number of different contexts… I leave for Vancouver on 27^th April 2024, before continuing my journey to Lausanne in May, followed by Frankfurt am Main in June. I’ll be blogging about what I learn along the way and hope to offer some insights into what languages teaching looks like in some very different education systems from Scotland and the UK. I hope this may be of interest to other languages teachers in Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond.

I don’t think there’s a Holy Grail when it comes to languages pedagogy and curriculum. But I know that we can and must continue to develop and refine what we offer our young people, in order that as many of our students as possible discover the joy and satisfaction of learning another language. As I embark on this learning journey, please do join me along the way and feel free to leave a comment!

Teaching a modern language in the UK was once described by the eminent languages educator Eric Hawkins as “gardening in a gale”. But as a languages teacher, the well documented decline in pupils learning a language, and the subsequent cuts to languages degrees have made it feel more like a category five hurricane.

Aberdeen University, one of the oldest in the UK, is making major cuts to its languages degree courses, having already proposed abolishing them entirely. This prompted an unprecented intervention from diplomats from four countries, urging the university to reconsider its proposals.

This is happening against falling numbers of pupils taking a language to Higher level. The German Ambassador to the UK recently warned the First Minister Humza Yousaf about the “dramatic” decline in German teaching in Scottish schools, despite Germany being the UK’s second largest trading partner for goods and services.

Widening access to languages education could be worth billions to the UK economy, according to a 2022 report by the University of Cambridge. Moreover, the languages classroom is the place where pupils learn to become global citizens, by understanding other cultures and challenging racism and cultural sterotypes.

So how can we motivate more Scottish young people to discover the joy of learning a language? As a languages teacher, here are the six things we need to change if we are to avert a full blown crisis in languages learning.

First, we teachers need to stop speaking so much English in the classroom. That may sound obvious, but the format of SQA exams effectively forces teachers to discuss reading and listening comprehension texts in English. And as the school year in Scotland can feel like an endless tunnel of coursework, prelims and National exams from S4 – S6, the culture of “talking about the language” rather than “talking in the language” becomes dominant. Pupils are taught to the test for formulaic exam tasks and regurgitate rote-learned language. Instead, they need exposure and opportunities  in class to use the language they’ll require to communicate in the real world.   

Second, we still have an unhealthy obsession with grammar and accuracy. That’s not to say that grammar isn’t important (it is), but research tells us that if we make grammar and accuracy our main focus, the vast majority of learners will find learning a language demotivating and abstract. This quite British approach is encouraged by textbooks that prioritize grammar over meaningful and engaging content, and leads to the perception that languages are “difficult”.

Third, we need to promote a culture of reading. Research shows that reading in a foreign language is one of the best things we can do to improve. Not only do stories help us retain new words in our long-term memory, but engaging with interesting characters and plot generates positive emotions and raises cultural awareness. Does this mean our pupils should all be devouring Molière and Victor-Hugo? No. There is a huge range of books written at an appropriate level for our learners, but schools need the money to be able to access these resources.

Fourth, the Scottish Government and local authorities need to promote cultural exchange programmes. Meeting new people and forming relationships is the raison d’être of learning another language. Brexit, fears over safeguarding and financial issues have led to a traditional language exchange programme steadily disappearing. Yet Ireland has moved in the opposite direction, supporting schools financially to take part in exchanges.

Fifth, we need to increase the time spent each week learning a language. One period a week of French might be fun and interesting, but it isn’t going to lead to much progress. Our pupils know this, and when they see they aren’t getting anywhere, they don’t see any reason to continue. The issue of composite classes is also problematic. Despite a teacher’s best efforts, it is impossible to teach a class well when pupils in one class are simultaneously preparing for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.

And finally, the elephant in the room… The 2004 decision to make languages non-compulsory in Scotland has led to a precipitous decline in the number of pupils continuing a language to Higher. That this has been allowed to happen is scandalous. Languages are not some desirable extra, but rather they are about literacy. Viewed in this context, Scottish pupils are becoming less literate than our European neighbours. If we want to see real change, languages must become compulsory yet accessible for pupils to the age of 16, just like maths, science and English. This would send a powerful message that we value the literacy and intercultural skills learning a language brings. It would also bring us in Scotland into line with the norm across much of the developed world.  With the Hayward reforms of the exam system underway, we have a golden opportunity. Will the Scottish Government have the courage to take it?

Wind-battered amidst the hurricane, we languages teachers will carry on, in hope of brighter days ahead. If Scotland has the courage to make bold policy change, that might just happen.

This article appeared in The Herald on 8th January 2024