Scots 'non' to languages will make people poorer

A hard-hitting report has led teachers, academics and business leaders to call for a government rethink to redress a growing language barrier with the Continent.

Serious problems were highlighted by the EU research, which showed children in some countries receive nine years' compulsory foreign language tuition, compared with a typical two years in Scotland.

While children in other countries start learning a second language by the age of six, most Scottish children will be 10 before they are given the chance. Even then they will learn fewer languages than in other countries, according to Eurydice, an EU educational research organisation.

The Eurydice report confirmed that English remains the dominant language across Europe, with more than 90% of European pupils learning it by their secondary school years. But Professor Roger Stephenson, former head of the school of modern languages and cultures at the University of Glasgow, said: "Scotland and the rest of Britain is the laughing stock of Europe when it comes to learning foreign languages. We are resented for our arrogance in assuming that people should speak English.

"If only for economic reasons, the government and the Scottish Executive must realise that you need to require people to learn a language. There cannot be a choice, because pupils will usually take the easier option, which is never languages."

The lack of teaching in school is bound to lead to a fall in language students at universities. Figures from the Scottish Qualifications Authority show that the number of pupils sitting Advanced Higher French fell 16% this year, from 715 to 602. The numbers sitting the German exam fell 5%, from 1,819 to 1,729.

Stephenson said: "It is a crisis situation. The quality of our students is exceptional but the number of applicants is falling."

Iain McMillan, director of the CBI in Scotland, warned that a lack of language skills could cause long-term damage to the Scottish economy. He said: "Being able to speak the language in a foreign country where you are doing business is a competitive advantage.

"About 10 years ago we argued that modern languages should be made a core skill in the curriculum, but that was not accepted by the Conservative government and the position has not changed since Labour came to power."

The study, of 30 countries, shows it is increasingly common across Europe to learn not one but two foreign languages, some children starting as early as the first year of primary school. Children in Luxembourg start learning their first other language by the age of six, a second by age seven, before adding a third language when they become teenagers.

Apart from Ireland, Scotland is the only EU country not to include at least one foreign language as a compulsory subject.

Although Executive guidelines say that Scottish pupils are "entitled to learn a modern European language", government guidelines mean most do not do so before the age of 10.

This compares unfavourably with countries such as Norway (age six), Estonia, (seven), Italy (seven), France (eight), Cyprus (nine) and Lithuania (nine). At age 11, however, the start date for learning to speak a non-native tongue is even higher in England and Wales than in Scotland.

Under the Executive's current languages policy, announced by then education minister Jack McConnell in 2001, local authorities are recommended to ensure six years of teaching amounting to at least 500 hours of language training. However, it is entirely at the discretion of local authorities how this is applied.

The survey reveals that Scottish primary school teachers receive limited training before they start teaching foreign languages. More than half of the European countries surveyed employ specialist teachers.

Jim Wilson, depute head at Bruntsfield Primary School in Edinburgh, where French and German are taught in primary six and seven, said of his teaching staff: "The majority are classroom teachers who receive basic instruction in modern languages.

"Although these people are well motivated, they are not specialists. The difference that a fluent speaker can make is enormous."

Wilson, who is a foreign languages specialist, added: "There is no doubt that starting younger would help to develop better linguistic ability."

Ronnie Smith, the general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said: "We have been through a system where it was mandatory to have foreign languages in the curriculum but it didn't work. The problem is that there is inconsistency among policy makers driven by the dogma of having a flexible curriculum."

Opposition politicians also rounded on the Executive's efforts to promote foreign language teaching in schools.

Fiona Hyslop, the SNP's education spokeswoman, said: "The Executive must get its act together. Scottish children are getting language teaching in primary, but it is obviously less than their European counterparts. They should not be allowed to be left behind."

An Executive spokesman said schools and councils were responsible for ensuring that Scottish children learn at least one foreign language. "However, we recognise there is scope for improvement, which is why we have provided authorities with an additional 14.5m in recent years to invest in language learning and teaching," he said.

BOTTOM OF THE CLASS

SCOTLAND'S emphasis on language teaching is among the lowest in Europe. Pupils are only entitled to learn them from the age of 10. This is four years later than in Norway, Malta and Luxembourg.

Scottish children typically receive tuition in only one language other than English, compared with two or three in other European nations. Scottish pupils are entitled to 500 hours of instruction within a six-year period. However, this is not compulsory and is dependent on the discretion of councils.

The average number of years during which languages are taught is also less - two years in Scotland, compared with nine across Europe, says the Eurydice report. However, since 2002 pilot projects have been introduced to teach Scottish children at a younger age.