A Critical Examination of the Beliefs about Learning a Foreign Language at Primary School

Thirty years on one cannot avoid a sense of 'dejð vu'. In the context of staffing
early foreign language schemes at primary schools CILT reported that there
were 455 'qualified' MFL teachers with a teaching qualification in Modern
Foreign Languages or a qualification at A-Level or above and 410 'non-qualified'
teachers teaching at primary school level (CILT, 1995: 7). However, an A-Ievel
in a language cannot be equated with a teaching qualification in that language
nor can foreign nationals necessarily be regarded as qualified. The
'qualification' of parents would also need to be examined more closely.

While some might indeed be qualified linguists others might simply be deemed
'qualified' by virtue of being a native-speaker.

Making reference to a child's mother tongue, giving sensitive and constructive
feedback, focusing children's minds on the structural properties of language as
well as selecting, sequencing and grading of language, requires teachers who
have the necessary understanding, knowledge, skills and confidence to plan
effectively, to resource effectively, to set challenging tasks, to question children
skilfully and to evaluate teaching and learning outcomes. Within a programme
that sets its aim as developing 'native-like' communicative competence, fluency
and good pronunciation would seem a prerequisite. Children need to interact
with linguistically proficient teachers and a 'confident' command of a 'core of
language' only (which seems to be the content of the bulk of current training
schemes) is unlikely to be sufficient in fostering children's language
development. The teacher who only has 'a good command of a core of
language' is likely to be locked into stimulus-response behaviour himself.

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