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

1.6.1.3 StartingAge

The earliest starting age is reported as five, the most common starting age
appears to be nine, with the arithmetic mean at 8.8 years (CILT, 1995: 6).
The age at which children start to learn a foreign language is left to individual
schools and does not seem to be consistent within or across authorities. It also
seems to be the case that not all schools offer a foreign language to all pupils
of a certain age although there does not seem to be any indication of who is left
out and why.

1.6.1.4 Nature of Provision

The report states that 'European Awareness' is offered in 559 schools (29%).
These schools focus on links, exchanges and visits. 'Language Awareness' is
included in 341 schools (18%) and around 300 schools offer a mixture of both
(CILT, 1995: 6). Language Advisers generally seemed to prefer an approach
which linked European Awareness with Language Awareness. However, as
has become clear from discussions with colleagues as well as from
observations, the concept of 'language awareness' is interpreted in a variety of
ways by schools and in some cases seems to be limited to teaching children
how to say 'hello' in several European languages.

1.6.1.5 Pattern of Provision and Amount of Teaching Time

Teaching time varies from 10 minutes to 120 minutes per week. Both frequency
and length of lessons vary widely. Some schools offer a short session each day
others offer one lengthy session every week. The most common pattern seems

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