Inspired by the Barcelona agreement of 2002 signed by EU member states “to improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages from a very early age”, Scotland’s 1+2 language policy in schools was to be implemented over a 10-year period from 2012 with 36.8 million invested by the Scottish Government.
In addition to the language of instruction (English or Gaelic based on the school), the 1+2 policy entitles learners to learn one additional language from the first year of primary to the third year of secondary while the second additional language is to be taught from the fifth year of primary.
The term entitlement suggests an element of choice in the learners’ decision to study a language. A school may provide learners with the entitlement to study a language, but they may decline that entitlement for various reasons. Language uptake at national qualifications level has been decreasing steadily overall for the past 20 years. Allowing learners to opt out of education for some subject areas allows for the development of subject hierarchisation within curriculum design. Research suggests that the early specialisation of subjects at national qualification-level, at the age of 14 or 15, is a determining factor in learners’ future academic and professional development. How then can subject hierarchy be minimised to ensure all learners are given key tools for beyond school?
Lessons can be drawn by looking at the education models of our EU neighbours. On average, learners are obliged to study a language up until the age of 18.5 and despite the predominance of English as an international language, only 10 of the 27 EU countries stipulate that it be English. Finally, unlike Scotland and the other UK nations, a national time allocation for languages is a policy requirement in 25 EU countries with an average of 1.4 hours per week in primary and 3.4 hours per week in secondary of language learning.
In contrast, there are no time allocation requirements in the Curriculum for Excellence’s Broad General Education from Early Years to the third year of secondary school (apart from 2 hours of PE per week) and learners can stop studying a language as early as 14 years old (or even earlier based on headteachers’ differing interpretation of the 1+2 policy). Language provision thus varies dramatically across schools in Scotland: while one school may provide learners with three periods per week of language learning, another may only offer one weekly period. Yet all learners are expected to reach the same level of language by the end of third year in order to choose whether or not to pursue national qualifications. This lack of coherence raises the question of inequities in learners’ (language) education.
We, as educators, need to reflect on the basic exposure to the knowledge and tools with which we wish to provide for our young people to enable them to become responsible, successful and capable citizens. By excluding learners from the study of language (regardless of whether or not it be their personal choice), we are depriving them of their basic right to a well-rounded education.
David Vescio is a PhD researcher funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities at the University of Stirling who is conducting the first independent evaluation of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 languages policy. As a former secondary school teacher now in academia, he is particularly interested in the unintended effects of (language) education policy on practice and how access to equitable (language) education can be ensured for learners across Scotland. You can find more information about David here, and get in touch with him via LinkedIn or email.
