Languages Review: final report (12 March 2007)

Lord Dearing, working closely with a range of stakeholders, conducted an extensive consultation exercise to review progress in implementing the government’s National Languages Strategy.  The review focused on halting and reversing the decline in take-up among learners aged 14+. 

Key recommendations from the review were:

• Increase the number and geographical spread of Language Colleges.
• Embed languages in the statutory curriculum at Key Stage 2 and other associated measures for Primary.
• Give additional support from Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)-funded Routes into Languages programme.
• Engage employers and embassies in supporting language learning.
• Include action on languages explicitly in the DCSF and Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS, now BIS - Department for Business Innovation and Skills) preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Refresh and strengthen languages careers information, advice and guidance.
• Boost use of the Languages Ladder for informal and formal assessment.
• Explore the potential to develop alternative provision at GCSE including languages in the Diplomas.
• Disseminate good practice in Content-and-Language-Integrated-Learning (CLIL).
• Review the potential for community languages.
• Set up an Open School for Languages and,
• A campaign to promote the value of languages; click to go to the Channel 4 website www.trylifeinanotherlanguage.com.