Community languages receive support from Ofsted
(22/02/08)

Ofsted marked this year's International Mother Language Day on 21 February with the release of a new report, Every Language Matters, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of initial teacher training in languages other than French, German, Irish, Spanish and Welsh.

The education watchdog said that languages such as Arabic, Bengali and Mandarin should be given higher status in England's schools to give more pupils the opportunity to learn them.

The report also praised the series of Curriculum Guides for Community Languages published by CILT and Goldsmiths as ‘an invaluable resource for trainees and teachers.’

Teresa Tinsley, Director of Communications at CILT, the National Centre for Languages said:

‘The benefits of language learning are not limited to the small group of the world's languages we call ‘modern foreign languages’. Learning a community language such as Panjabi can highlight the relevance and practicality of using another language in everyday life, as well as helping intercultural understanding and social cohesion.

For those pupils who already speak another language, taking it to a higher level, gaining literacy in it and a qualification, can be an important step forward in social and personal development, as well as enabling them to make practical use of an asset.’

CILT’s leaflet, Use it or Lose it, provides further advice for pupils who want to know how their languages can work for them.

To download the report, visit www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications