Climbdown on English teaching

EDUCATION Minister Luc Chatel has climbed down over his controversial assertion last month that he wanted children to learn English from three years old.

Speaking at a languages conference in Paris, Expolangues, he said he was just talking about “raising children’s awareness” of English (sensibilisation), not actual “teaching”; a vaguer notion that
some experts say could be done as part of the existing primary school curriculum.

At present, language teaching is supposed to begin at seven; however, while it is consistent by the end of primary school (age 10), many schools reportedly have little or no real language teaching at this age. Some critics have said it would be better for the ministry to make sure its current rules are followed before introducing stricter ones.

The utility of IT in language teaching of the very young, which Mr Chatel last month said he was looking at, has also been questioned. Primary teachers’ associations said communication between child and teacher was key at that stage, not putting a child in front of a computer screen. Mr Chatel responded at the conference by wondering if secondary language teachers could be sent in to do the “awareness raising”.

This idea, in turn, has raised questions over feasibility, especially as teacher cuts (16,000 in the 2011 budget, following others in earlier years) have meant that most lack the gaps in their timetables where they might do such work.

Mr Chatel also responded to criticism that he was favouring English too much, saying his ideas did not exclude learning other languages. However, one survey showed that 70 per cent of people thought learning English at three would be a good idea.

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English from age three in schools

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