Family
Language Learning for Primary Schools
Dallam School – Community
Education
Haverflatts Lane
Milnthorpe
Cumbria LA7 7DD
Person in charge of project: Jenny Ford, Modern Languages Co-ordinator – Community Education
Dallam School is a rural comprehensive with roughly 600 students on the roll. The school has Language College status and offers French, German, Spanish and Russian to its students. The school also has 1,000 adults attending courses and offers ten languages as part-time afternoon and evening courses from beginners to A-level equivalent courses.
This is a scheme whereby Dallam School Community Education offers French, German and Spanish classes to local primary schools free of charge. Parents and children attend the classes together after school. The course currently lasts ten weeks, and all parents who complete the course receive the OCNW START Qualification. The children receive an award from Dallam Community Education.
The project seeks to introduce and develop languages as part of the primary curriculum, to promote language learning through ICT, to encourage international links and to foster cultural awareness and tolerances.
Judges' comments
This is an outstanding example of a city embracing multilingualism and
building on the strengths and abilities of its population. Existing bilingualism
is promoted and strengthened, alongside a policy for language learning
in the monolingual community. The learning of European languages is thus
linked to community languages, in an initiative which reaches people of
all ages. This is an exercise in inclusiveness which makes an important
contribution to general linguistic and cultural education and to the life
of the city as a whole.
