Hansard

I will stick to my own language. I rise today to speak in support of the Government’s motion and our amendment, which concern the ambition to improve the opportunities that are available for young people to engage with modern languages, and I want to raise a number of issues to do with how we make that a reality.

At the launch of the report, the minister spoke of moving beyond a monolingual society. That is, of course, necessary in part for the economy and for tourism. Although it might be argued that English is the language of business, if someone is conducting foreign business, it is essential that they are able to speak reasonably in the language of the other country. As a member of the cross-party group on China, I highlight our commitment to developing Scotland’s relations with China. That is in part for mutual trade benefits. It must surely seem arrogant and even postcolonial to think it appropriate to conduct a meeting about renewable energy systems in Tianjin in English rather than Mandarin. In that context, the Confucius Institute’s pilot primary school Mandarin programme is most welcome.

The minister has stressed the issue of competitive advantage in the global job market. My daughter, Freya, lives in Hong Kong. When I spoke to her on Viber this morning, she acknowledged, without being prompted, that her getting a job as an economist in China had as much to do with her learning of Mandarin over five summers as it had to do with her—hopefully good—economic skills.

Working in a rural primary school as a French teacher with a multi-composite class, I was delighted to see the enthusiasm among pupils every year when they were able to choose something French to research, such as how la tour Eiffel was built, where the beret came from, and the essence of haute couture.

As other members have said, foreign language assistants are a crucial part of teaching languages. They bring not only a knowledge of the language but an authenticity to the teaching of it and they can encourage pupils to develop an understanding of the culture. I welcomed the news last month from the British Council that more language assistants are to be employed in Scotland, but there has been a huge decline, as highlighted by Neil Findlay. I will not go into the figures again, as they have already been quoted. However, the expected rise in the numbers of assistants will take them only to 70, of whom 24 will work outside the state system. I understand that the Scottish Government’s funding of such programmes through the British Council has also fallen. There must be investment in order to achieve good results.

Foreign exchanges also bring different cultures alive. A group of primary 7 pupils from my daughter’s school brought back a pack of frozen frogs’ legs from Dieppe and started sawing it up to take home to parents. Délicieux!

In an article in The Independent entitled “Why learning languages matters”, Dr Shirley Lawes made a plea for language to be learned for its own sake and stated:

“The study of a foreign language has a unique transformational capacity that differentiates it from other subject disciplines in the potential that knowledge of foreign languages has of opening individuals up to human culture.”

That enables understanding of different ways of life and encourages tolerance. In the words of the veteran language teacher Eric Hawkins, foreign languages serve to

“emancipate the learner from parochialism.”

New languages enrich our experience. Another culture can be brought alive by different words, such as “clapotis”, which means the sound of little waves lapping on a quayside and has no equivalent in our language.

Gaining an understanding of the grammatical structure of a foreign language can also feed back into a deepening understanding of how to use our own to best effect. I would also advocate ensuring that children and young people understand the syntax of our own language. Indeed, although it is not very modern, the study of Latin can be invaluable in the understanding of language, and I personally believe that it is a great pity that Lanark grammar school, where my children happened to go, is now one of the few high schools in Scotland that still teach it.

I agree with the Scottish Government’s languages working group that the earlier someone starts to learn a new language, the better. The pilot project in East Renfrewshire involving children learning French from their pre-school year is a good example. The pilot started in 2002 and uses songs, rhymes and games to encourage children to learn a foreign language in the same way as they learned their mother tongue.

It is only in the past year that those children will move on to a secondary school setting, so the analysis of what impact that method of teaching has had will only now begin. However, it is clear that, as other members have stressed, by starting at an early age, the children do not have the inhibitions of later life and they grow up understanding language and having increased confidence in their ability to learn new things.

When I was learning, many people in my generation lacked the confidence to take the risk of speaking a foreign language, even if they were in a campsite with kids in France, Germany or wherever. Often, that was due to how they were taught. These days in our primary schools, in the context of curriculum for excellence, the range of methods that are used—including games, role plays, visual materials and talking in groups and with partners—mean that saying, “Salut!” and opening a conversation is fun rather than traumatic.

I disagree with Liz Smith: there is a clear methodology underpinning language teaching at primary level. The working group emphasises that

“local authorities should provide regular opportunities for primary and secondary languages staff to work together ... to undertake shared CPD”.

As a primary French teacher, I would argue that such work will aid the transition to secondary school and ensure that children are no longer turned off from the more rigid and perhaps less participatory ways of learning at secondary level.

Equity must be at the centre of the development of the new strategy for modern languages. As Neil Findlay stressed, rural schools and those in more deprived areas must not be disadvantaged by the challenge of finding and retaining modern language teachers. If the working group’s report and recommendations are actioned consistently, we will, in a generation, have teachers who are leaving teacher training ready and able to teach modern languages, and children who know that part of growing up as a global citizen involves speaking one or two other languages.

Enfin, if the first way to connect with another country is through its language, the second way is perhaps through its cuisine. I wish everyone today, “Buon appetito!” for the Italian lunch in the Scottish Parliament canteen.

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