MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL. By Keith Shape. Kogan Page, pound;22 paperback

This is an important book. One of its key messages is that primary teachers are not just the only means of giving pupils the chance to learn a foreign language, they are also one of the best. The book demonstrates why it champions the primary generalist, appropriately supported, and in what ways modern foreign language teaching is different in primaries from secondary schools.

The contents range across fundamental issues, including who should teach primary MFL, the training and professional development required, links with the national curriculum, the European dimension, the need for systematic teaching, and the role of progression and continuity across age groups and phases.

Subject leaders will find the section on good practice and content for a two-year primary scheme helpful. If you don’t know much about MFL, this book provides an accessible account of how things have come to be as they are and a realistic look towards the future. Schools teaching MFL or considering doing so will find much here worth reading and discussing .

Cynthia Martin is a lecturer in modern foreign languages education at the University of Reading