This two-part podcast, recorded by Modern Languages student Eve McDonald, will question to what extent we can claim that there’s a general lack of interest in language learning amongst school aged children in the UK when, in many cases, it can be a lack of opportunity. Listeners will be introduced to the Scottish Government’s 1+2 approach to language learning; a policy that advocates for equal opportunity and diversification within language education.
An introduction to the 1+2 approach to language learning in Scotland
This episode will look at the steady decline in entries to language exams in Scotland since 2012 and think of potential reasons for this from policy change to issues like Brexit. We will compare this to the situation in England where there is strong evidence of a link between Brexit, negative attitudes towards language learning and class. The podcast will finish by introducing the 1+2 approach, which is the Scottish Government’s policy on language learning.
Erratum: “referendum held on 2019” should be “referendum held in 2016”
Hope for language diversification in schools
In the previous episode we concluded that children in Scotland may have more opportunities to learn languages than children 10 years ago, but entries to exams have still been decreasing in recent years. This episode will start by looking at some projects that aim to increase uptake and encourage children to make use of these opportunities. We will compare this to the English context where there is a problem with inequality in access to language learning opportunities. Finally, the episode will conclude by looking at some programmes that teach lesser taught languages, as schools move away from the more traditionally taught ones.
Erratum: “between 2026 and 2022” should be “between 2016 and 2022”