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KS2 Framework for modern foreign languages
The DfES is currently working with a number of partners to develop a Framework for language learning in KS2. This will be published in the autumn of 2005 and is intended as a shared national reference point for all those involved in teaching modern foreign languages in primary schools, and in training or curriculum planning and development. It will build on previous work in this area undertaken by CILT, the National Centre for Languages and the QCA.
Why do we need a Framework for language teaching in KS2?
The document is being developed to support two substantial government policy intiatives. The first is the government's National Languages Strategy, which contains a commitment to the introduction of an entitlement to language learning for every pupil throughout KS2 by 2010:
Every child should have the opportunity throughout key stage 2 to study a foreign language and develop their interest in the culture of other nations. They should have access to high quality teaching and learning opportunities, making use of native speakers and e-learning. By age 11 they should have the opportunity to reach a recognised level of competence on the Common European Framework and for that achievement to be recognised through a national scheme.
The Framework will therefore have an important role to play as a comprehensive source of guidance and advice for those teachers and curriculum managers who will deliver the entitlement - many of whom may currently have little or no experience of primary language teaching. The content of the Framework will also be closely aligned with the principles and ambitions contained in the Primary Strategy: Excellence and Enjoyment. This promotes a holistic approach to the primary curriculum and encourages teachers to extend the methodology behind the numeracy and literacy strategies to the full range of primary subjects, exploiting links between curriculum areas wherever possible. This development of primary education will provide a natural support for the primary MFL entitlement: teachers will be encouraged to introduce primary MFL not as a bolt-on extra, but as an integrated part of a rich and coherent curriculum. It will be a means of reinforcing and extending work on literacy, and a subject with natural links across the curriculum that can be exploited to enhance pupils' overall learning experiences. Primary Strategy colleagues are closely involved with the development of the MFL Framework document and the DfES is committed to ensuring that the two strategies are mutually supportive.
What will the Framework look like?
The Framework is still in the early stages of development, but the following briefly summarises the approach that the drafting team is taking.
The document will be organised on the basis of a number of strands which will be familiar both to primary teachers and to those with experience of language teaching. These will include:
- oracy
- literacy
- cultural understanding
- knowledge about language
It will offer guidance about such key considerations as pedagogy, cross-curricular links and curriculum delivery models, as well as transition issues. It will also contain guidelines on what a well-established programme across all four years of KS2 might consist of and the level of attainment that teachers should expect from pupils in each year of study.
As its name suggests, the Framework will offer a structured set of guidelines to assist teachers with curriculum planning. It will not contain detailed lesson plans or schemes of work. However, it will be closely linked to and supplement the Schemes of Work for languages in KS2 that have been produced by QCA.
It is intended that the Framework should be flexible enough to accommodate the wide variety of starting points from which individual schools will begin to implement the entitlement. This means that the guidelines on curriculum planning and pupil attainment will be published in a format that will make them relevant whether a school already has a long-established programme of MFL across KS2, no experience at all of language teaching - or is somewhere in between.
Progress to date
The development of the Framework is being overseen by a Steering Group, which includes representatives from CILT, QCA, the Association for Language Learning (ALL), Ofsted, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), KS3 Strategy and Primary Strategy colleagues, KS2 Language Pathfinder LEAs and Canterbury Christ Church University College, one of the Higher Education Institutions involved in the TTA Primary MFL training programme.
An initial draft of the Framework is now ready and a limited pre-trial began at the beginning of February 2004. 13 trial sites have been identified to advise on the practical implications - and limitations - of this first draft. These include Specialist Language Colleges with a strong primary language outreach programme, Primary Pathfinder LEAs and Higher Education Institutions with a Primary MFL training programme. The trial period will run in two stages, and the draft document will be further revised in light of feedback from the trial sites at the end of each of these stages.
The final draft of the Framework will be made available to schools from September 2005.
Further information
The DfES will be holding national briefing seminars for Primary Languages Coordinators in LEAs in July 2004, which will include reports on progress on the development of the Framework and on the implementation of the National Languages Strategy.
Regular updates on progress on the Framework will be published on relevant DfES websites and through such agencies as CILT and the Association for Language Learning.
www.dfes.gov.uk/languages
For information about the implementation of the National Languages Strategy
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes3
For access to the QCA KS2 schemes of work for French, plus one unit for German and Spanish. Full sets of the schemes of work will be available in German and Spanish by Spring 2004.
If you have any further questions about the Framework or any other aspect of the National Languages Strategy, please contact the MFL Team at the DfES at mfl.team@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
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