Article Details

Article Details

Modern Languages in Scottish Primary Schools: An Investigation into the Perceived Benefits and Challenges of the 1+2 Policy

Author: Elizabeth Murray
Date of Publication: January 2018
Series Title: Scottish Languages Review Issue 33
Notes: DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.5925112

This article reports on the views regarding the key benefits and challenges of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 language policy as expressed by primary school teachers across Scotland via an online questionnaire (n=243) and five staff in a large primary school in Scotland through semi-structured interviews. Interview participants believed that the policy would help raise the profile of languages and increase the number of languages taught at primary school. They were also in favour of starting language learning at an earlier age. The challenges identified by questionnaire respondents were feeling incompetent in teaching languages and a lack of available training. A key challenge of the policy is sustainability in the long term as the allocation for training and resources in support of the 1+2 policy is gradually being withdrawn.

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Posted in: SLR Issue 33
University of Strathclyde Education Scotland British Council Scotland The Scottish Government
SCILT - Scotlands National centre for Languages