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Glasgow hosts language learning conference
02/10/2003
Languages come under the spotlight in Glasgow today at the second of a series of national conferences designed to share good practice on foreign language teaching.
The conference follows a recent report on modern language teaching which shows that pupils are leaving primary school with encouraging levels of attainment in French or German.
The Assessment of Achievement Programme (AAP) 2001 Modern Languages Survey provides the first clear evidence that teaching modern languages in primary school is effective. The survey provides a baseline against which future achievement can be measured.
Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"Improving language learning in all schools is vital and these conferences on modern language teaching will help us to share best practice across Scotland.
"We live in an ever-shrinking world and young Scots must be equipped with skills that will help them to raise Scotland's profile around the world and help Scotland play a bigger role in the global economy.
"Communication skills - both English and other languages - are vitally important for all pupils and I'm encouraged that this report confirms that primary pupils are now developing these essential skills.
"This survey provides an excellent baseline to allow us to assess recent developments in language teaching such as the revised 5-14 guidelines and additional funding to support improvements."
The survey's findings include:
Almost all (four fifths) of P7 pupils achieved Level C in listening and speaking skills and around a third achieved Level D.
Attainment is higher in German than in French, significantly so in respect of listening and reading.
Girls outperform boys on almost every element of the skills assessment.
Around two thirds of S2 pupils achieved Level D in listening and reading.
The AAP is a national sample survey run by the Scottish Executive which monitors performance at P3, P5, P7 and S2. It runs on a four-year cycle and covers English and modern languages, maths, science and social subjects in rotation. Each survey involves around 600 schools and 10,000 pupils.
The modern languages survey was conducted by specialists at Stirling University in collaboration with Scottish Council for Research in Education statisticians.
Revised 5-14 guidelines for modern languages were distributed to schools in 2001. Attainment in the 5-14 curriculum is measured at six broad levels: A-F.
The final national conference on Good Practice in Language Learning and Teaching takes place on 7 October in Edinburgh, following on from the event in Glasgow and a similar one in Aberdeen on September 16. The aim is to showcase to teachers and education authorities best practice currently taking place throughout Scotland, provide a forum for discussion and reflect on how the revised guidelines are being implemented.
Around £10.5 million has been provided to education authorities and independent school since 2001 to support improvements in language learning and teaching.