Language survey

E X T R A C U R R I C U L U M

Only just over one in five state primary schools surveyed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland offer foreign language teaching, according to the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research.

Nationally, this could mean only 305,000 pupils are learning foreign languages out of a primary school population of 4.5 million.

The earliest starting age was five in one local education authority, but the most common starting age was nine. French was the most widely taught language.

Schools in 19 local education authorities charged for the lessons. Another 18 authorities allowed parents or pupils to choose the lessons, and one authority offered them to the most able pupils.

`Modern Foreign Languages in Primary Schools: CILT Report' 1995, 20 Bedfordbury, London, WC2N 4LB.