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

"...to enable valid conclusions to be drawn regarding the feasibility and
advisability of teaching French at the primary level." (Burstall et al., 1974: 12)

What might be feasible, however, might not necessarily be educationally
desirable and the identification of necessary conditions does not clarify whether
an early start provides identifiable advantages over starting at the age of
eleven. The inclusion of the crucial variable of ability in the consideration
'whether it would be feasible and educationally desirable to extend the teaching
of a foreign language to pupils who represented a wider range of age and ability
than those to whom foreign languages had traditionally been taught' would
seem to suggest that in the Pilot Scheme two crucial variables, age and ability,
and the problems associated with the two ideas have often become
'intermingled' (Kunkle, 1977: 254).

1.3.1 LanguageChoice

Annan (1962) described the existing entrenched position of the French
language:

"French is safeguarded by geography and tradition; it will naturally remain an
important language in this country, the more so if Britain joins the Common
Market. As France is our nearest neighbour and French history and culture are
part of our heritage, French is nearly always the first modem language to be
taught." (Annan Report, 1962: para 56, cited in Hawkins, 1981: 63)

Donald Riddy, then Staff Inspectorfor Modem Languages, explained the
reasons why French was chosen for the Pilot Scheme:

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