A CAMPAIGN for children as young as seven to be taught foreign languages in Welsh schools is being launched by the Tories today.
Welsh Conservatives want to give all of the nation’s primary schools the opportunity to teach a modern foreign language throughout Key Stage 2 – which starts at age seven.
Modern foreign language learning is currently only compulsory at Key Stage 3, meaning pupils begin study at 11 and can stop at 14.
The Tories will pool feedback on the plan, launched today at the Eisteddfod, which is designed to nurture a trilingual nation and complement skills in Welsh and English.
Evidence suggests that fostering skills in a foreign language can help improve literacy, fluency and confidence in a child’s mother tongue.
Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns said learners in Wales are falling behind in the language stakes.
“We want to inspire a love of languages and embed language skills to improve literacy in Welsh and English,” she said.
“Welsh school leavers are regrettably trailing their European counterparts in foreign language skills and the gap is growing. In an increasingly competitive economy, we need to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills they need to pursue a successful career and to help make Wales a more prosperous nation.”
Research shows that children find it easier to learn a foreign language at a younger age so in many high-performing education systems, teaching is introduced early.
New Zealand, Singapore and France teach languages at age six, while pupils in high-flying Finland begin from the age of seven.
But modern languages like French and German – the two most popular available in schools – are traditionally seen as the most difficult academic subjects to learn.
Study at Key Stage 4 – GCSE level – has plummeted in the past decade and the number of GCSE entries for French has halved since 1999, when there were 5,548 more Welsh pupils sitting the exam.
Suzy Davies, Tory Shadow Minister for the Welsh Language, said: “Experience of learning a foreign language can greatly aid a child’s competence in both English and Welsh as communication is seen as a useful skill rather than simply a school subject. We are setting out how Wales, already well on the way to becoming a truly bilingual nation, can learn from other EU countries and set the example for the rest of the UK to follow as a nation of trilinguists.
“Far from issuing a centralised diktat from a Welsh minister, we want to consult with parents, teachers and governors at primary schools across Wales and get their views on our proposed direction of travel.”
The call echoes that made across the border, where UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has announced plans to make foreign languages compulsory from age seven.
Ministers in Westminster hope the move will make pupils better- equipped to compete in a global economy and reverse the slide in GCSE language take-up.
Owen Hathway, policy officer for teaching union NUT Cymru, warned that Wales already has an overloaded curriculum.
“We can’t continue to implement new initiatives, adding to teachers workloads, without looking at what impact that has on classroom teaching,” he said.
“The idea behind the policy may have merit but there will need to be a serious examination of how teachers are expected to deliver it in practice.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said learning English and Welsh from an early age gave youngsters in Wales a good start in life.
“We are also well aware that learning a modern foreign language also supports pupils’ literacy and oracy, building on and complementing the skills acquired in English and Welsh,” he said.
“We have put in place guidance to support those schools who teach Key Stage 2 learners modern foreign languages and we encourage other schools, if able, to incorporate a modern foreign language into the curriculum.
“We are already committed to further promoting and improving the take-up of MFL in our schools. The Welsh Government is, however, currently actively considering a focused review of the curriculum, along with assessment arrangements and modern foreign languages are part of those considerations,” he said.