Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

Effective staffing is essential to a successful primary languages programme. In some casestudy Pathfinders, the most frequent teachers of primary languages were the primaryteachers, who were mainly non-specialists, supported perhaps by visiting trainee teachersfrom abroad, as well as FLAs, HEI undergraduate volunteers, or PGCE trainees withlanguage skills, sixth formers studying languages, or secondary, usually Specialist LanguageCollege (SLC) teachers. Specialist Language Colleges already have a remit to provideoutreach work and there was a perception that Pathfinders had helped increase the rangeand volume of this work. ‘Planning has been more coherent and strategic.’ (outreachteacher). Occasionally, the original plan had been for all secondary schools to becomeinvolved in outreach work, but this did not happen, and the SLC was delivering the vastmajority of the languages. Some part-time teachers were former secondary teachers.Elsewhere the delivery model was mixed, including primary teachers alone in some schoolsand outreach teachers in others, the intention in the latter case being that the class teachershould reinforce the language across the curriculum where possible and appropriate. Insome of these Pathfinders, the model was gradually to enable the class teacher to take fullresponsibility for languages after observation and joint working with a visiting specialist(often from an SLC or a local authority advisor/consultant). Although this was the vision inmany schools, the reality on the ground was often that the class teacher remainedsomewhat reluctant to take over the teaching independently, especially in those instanceswhen primary teachers were passive observers.In effective examples of this model, the visiting teacher left a plan and materials with theclass teacher, who used these to follow the lesson up or to teach the lesson with a differentgroup of pupils. In cases where the class teacher was less (or not at all) involved, this couldbe viewed as a missed opportunity for professional development. The visiting teacher mightstart by acting as a role model and the class teacher would gradually take a more active partteam-teaching on a small scale. This would help build confidence both in subject knowledgeand pronunciation and in pedagogy, whilst support was available, before having to teachindependently. Demands on even the most conscientious primary teachers were indicatedby the following example. In one large junior school teachers were initially given protectedtime to observe the outreach teacher, but as time went on and pupils became familiar withthe visiting specialist, primary members of staff observing were increasingly taken out tocover any other absences in the school. As the outreach teacher remarked, ‘Primary[teachers] have no time just to sit and watch.’ In several schools, primary teachers took theperiod when the visiting specialist delivered languages as ‘free’ time or time to catch up withadministrative tasks, and might or might not stay in the classroom, which had implications for58