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

1.2 The Background to the Pilot Scheme

Attempts to teach French to children in British state primary schools prior to the
1960s were 'sporadic, individual and quite un∞ordinated' (Plowden, 1967).

It was not until the early 1960s that more concentrated efforts were made in
considering the teaching of French to pupils of all abilities in state primary
schools. The Pilot Scheme was the first large-scale experiment in a foreign
language at primary school. The Schools Council listed a number of factors
which led to its establishment, such as a change in attitude towards the
usefulness Oflanguage learning, the spread of the audio-visual methodology,
new technologies, a growing sense of unity with European neighbours, the
report of the Annan Committe (1962) which drew attention to the potential
benefits for language learning in Britain if 'the regular teaching of a first modern
language were started in good conditions and by the right methods in primary
schools' and the support given by the Nuffield Foundation to pioneering
experiments in language teaching at the primary level, such as the experiment
in Leeds carried out by Kellermann (Schools Council 1966: 1). The following
pages will briefly discuss the political and economic climate at the time, the
potential contribution of UNESCO to developments, the influence of the Annan
Committee as well as the Kellermann project carried out in 1961.

1.2.1 The Post World War Il Political and Economic Climate

The post World War Il need for economic development, for improved
international relations and for better cross-cultural understanding created an
atmosphere which was most favourable for language learning across the world.

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