C’EST formidable! The end of compulsory language teaching in secondary schools is leading to a renaissance in linguistic ability in a nation notoriously averse to acquiring a foreign tongue.

At least, that is what the Department for Education is hoping. Its decision to scrap compulsory foreign language lessons for the over-14s from 2004 caused an outcry and led to accusations that the young would miss out on good jobs, either overseas or at home.

The Government’s response was a bold one: convinced that younger children are more receptive to foreign languages than older pupils and are able to absorb the rhythms and structures more easily, it decided to introduce foreign language teaching in primary schools instead, so that the enthusiasm for languages could be nurtured earlier.

The move appears to be paying off. The majority of children at 1,400 primaries that introduced a language, usually French, in a pilot scheme say that they enjoyed the experience so much that they want to carry on with it at secondary school.

Now 56 per cent of primary head teachers have introduced or are planning to introduce languages into their schools, up from 44 per cent in 2004. By 2010 all 7 to 11 year olds will be entitled to learn at least one foreign language in school.

The picture at secondary schools is less rosy. Pupils in more than 60 per cent of schools are dropping languages. However, where pupils do decide to continue studying languages beyond the age of 14, they are doing better. The A* to C pass rate rose by 7 percentage points last year, which the Government claims indicates that those entering the exams are more likely to be dedicated language learners.

There has also been growing interest in non-European languages, with a 35 per cent increase from 2003 to 2005 in the number of entries for Mandarin at GCSE. The number of entries for Arabic at GCSE rose from 1,854 in 2004 to 2,183 in 2005.

Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, acknowledges that language teaching is still in a period of transition and that it will take time for the reforms to settle down. He added that forcing 14 to 16-year-olds to learn a language was a waste of time.

“Getting children excited about languages at an early age and finding new and inspiring ways of teaching languages will make the difference,” he said. “We are confident that the renewed focus and investment being targeted at primary schools and new ways of teaching language in secondary schools will reverse the decline in entries in the coming years.”

He added that a new way of teaching modern languages in secondary schools — the languages ladder — was proving popular. Rather than culminating in an important exam such as a GCSE, the ladder works rather like the eight grades of music learning. Pupils are assessed on a scale of 1 to 17 and rewarded for each improvement with a certificate.

Linda Parker, the director of the Association for Language Learning, welcomed the primary languages initiative and the languages ladder, but said a “renaissance” in language learning was still some way off at secondary level. “We need to encourage the majority of young people to continue to learn languages throughout their time in secondary school,” she said. “Languages are too important to us as a nation to allow them to become the preserve of a small elite.”

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