My aim here is to present three of the recommendations made in The Languages Review Final Report , presented in 2008. In doing so I acknowledge that many of the recommendations may have in fact already been actioned, however I will be presenting the report's recommendations as if they are still contemporary and relevant.
1) The first recommendation I would like to advance is from section 3.10 on Transition Coordination.
The the proposal of the Training and Development Agency to develop an ages 9-14 training course I suggest would be greatly beneficial in facilitating the transition from Key stage 2 to key stage 3.
The important need to do so is of course to harness the evident success of the introduction of MFLs at primary level in order to arrest their decline in uptake for GCSEs.
Such a training course is essential to promote the smooth transition from Junior to secondary level by enabling teachers to coordinate activities between feeder schools and the secondary school.
Questions about which languages are taught at the schools and be posed and how these can be accommodated.
It will be possible to look at whether teaching staff and materials can be shared.
And ideas can be discussed such as the possible introduction of a language passport for each student, so that each teacher can easily identify the current linguistic skill levels and of a student, which languages are have been learnt or are already spoken and the be better able to tailor lessons to individual needs.
As stated initially the fundamental challenge is to maintain the momentum gained from the students' positive experience of language learning at primary level and promote this through key stage 3 and ideally into key stay 4.
2)The second recommendation I am advancing is from section 3.52. on Information & Communications Technologies.The proposal that the Department continues provision of information on languages & ICT & finds ways to support and disseminate innovations in...