While an eminently sensible thought in principle, there are major, perhaps insuperable, problems involved in introducing foreign language teaching from age seven, particularly in an increasingly fragmented state “system” where some schools can opt outside of the national curriculum (Children to learn foreign language from seven, 10 June). While in other countries the choice of a second language (ie English – at least for immediately) is unproblematic, in England there is no obvious candidate – French? Spanish? Mandarin? Then there is the impossibility of securing continuity of teaching between phases where some pupils may commence one language in primary college only to have it discontinued at secondary level or to have to relearn it from scratch at age 11. There is also the costly issue of training the many teachers needed to teach whichever languages individual schools opt for.All this is exacerbated by contemporary administration academising policies. In reality, to secure this language reform the administration will have to “infringe” the liberties it claims to be offering schools. Presumably it won’t be prepared to do this. In which condition English pupils will be deprived of the kind of continuous, progressive language teaching many of our economic rivals provide through the medium of English.Professor Colin RichardsSpark Bridge, Cumbria• Mr Gove delights in announcing startling changes to the national curriculum, which the fresh academies and autonomous of charge schools do not have to follow. Since most schools will soon be academies or autonomous of charge schools, why does he bother?Phil AndersonSt Albans, Hertfordshire• It’s excellent to learn that Michael Gove is plotting to introduce compulsory language teaching in primary schools. Only 43% of GCSE candidates were entered for a language in 2010; numbers of A-level language candidates are at an all-age low; university language departments are closing. Where will he find the teachers?Jennifer BasannavarWalton-on-Thames, Surrey• I welcome the inclusion of the words “bruise”, “ruin”, “ridiculous” and “tyrant” in the list of spellings that the administration will expect all children to be able to spell. It method pupils will immediately be well placed to comment on the path in which Michael Gove imposes his own favoured solutions on schools.Steven WroeHuddersfield, West Yorkshire• I am intrigued by the proposal to ensure that all children, by the age nine, learn their tables up to 12 times. It reminds me of asking a class of nine-year-olds, back in the 1950s, what five times 13 is. Practically the whole class place up their hands and I singled outside one boy. “You can’t have five times 13. It only goes up to 12 times,” he said. It is vital to teach children to apply multiplication facts as well as remember them, and, of direction, we employ addition and subtraction facts far more in everyday lifetime. What about them? Not many human beings acquire 12 loaves of bread at a age; a loaf and some butter is more likely. The same applies to observation in science. Thoughts about why and how are as vital as merely noticing.Professor Norman ThomasSt Albans, Hertfordshire• When will politicians stop telling teachers what to do in schools? Michael Gove has no administer familiarity of teaching in schools and the photograph of him accompanying yesterday’s report, is strikingly apt. He sits looking utterly bemused in front of a collection of young children who are taking no notice of him. Would that teachers could ignore him also. According to your report, children must learn to spell bruise, ruin, ridiculous and tyrant. Again, how apt!Teachers try to pitch their teaching at educational needs and these vary widely with the age, background and early lifetime experiences of the children in their classrooms. For 24 years, since the national curriculum was introduced by the Education Reform Act of 1988, governments of left and fair have been tinkering with what ill-informed politicians have thought all schools ought to do. In the latest draft version of the national curriculum, irrespective of the skills of individual teachers or the background of their pupils, all primary schools are to teach a foreign language from the age of seven. Neither Michael Gove, nor Stephen Twigg (“the administration is ‘absolutely’ fair”) seem to realise that there are hardly any primary schools where the teachers are fluent in Mandarin, Latin or Greek: some struggle with French, German or Spanish.Come off it, Mr Gove and Mr Twigg. Their teachers know bigger than you what children demand. It is age to autonomous of charge schools from administration control.Emeritus Professor Michael BasseyNewark, NottinghamshirePrimary schoolsNational curriculumModern languagesCurriculumsSchoolsMichael GoveEducation policyguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
DOWNLOAD: Mds