The report in The TES of February 15 on the announcement by the Government that “foreign languages will be introduced in primary schools (in England) by 2012 but that pupils will not have to study them” has raised a laugh north of the border.

This, in addition to the confirmation that languages will not be compulsory beyond the age of 14, will also be greeted with surprise across Europe, where bilingualism is fast becoming the norm. The term “Little England” springs to mind in this further act of isolation from Europe on top of suspicions about the Euro and the failure to embrace metrication.

In Scotland, the Modern Languages in the Primary School (MLPS) project was launched more than 10 years ago. Following a successful pilot, political will, backed by considerable public finance, led to an ambitious extension to all of Scotland. Local authorities have organised a series of 27-day training courses for teachers in the top two years of primary.

The aim of the Scottish programme is to “embed” the teaching of a modern language in the primary curriculum. This means that, in addition to regular structured linguistic input, teachers use the language from time to time in classroom activities: from taking the register, to revision of number in mathematics, or when giving instructions in the games hall. The courses have been well received by teachers across Scotland, with applications each year exceeding the numbers of places.

It would be foolish to suggest that all is now sweetness and light in Scotland as far as MLPS is concerned. A few thousand teachers have been trained to deliver the programme and it is going very well in most authorities, but we are only too conscious of the continuing challenge. As is the case in other curricular areas, there is an on-going need, not only to sustain and develop linguistic competence, but also to maintain training opportunities to allow us to fill the gaps caused by maternity leave, retirement and movement between schools.

It is acknowledged also that this “natural wastage” will only be adequately addressed by including modern languages in initial teacher training at our colleges and universities: a challenge currently causing heated debates in higher education circles.

England seems to have postponed indefinitely, if not rejected, many of the key recommendations of the 2000 Nuffield Report. In the meantime, the central role of modern languages in the Scottish curriculum is endorsed in the recently published Citizens of a Multilingual World. This is an inquiry commissioned by the Scottish education minister, following concerns about modern languages expressed in a national report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate.

The minister responded to Citizens of a Multilingual World by intimating that local authorities would be expected to take action to address the recommendations in the report. Without listing all 14 in detail, suffice to say that modern languages will continue to be taught in primary schools, with training extended to include ethnic-minority languages, including Scottish Gaelic, where the need is identified.

Beyond primary, all pupils will have an “entitlement” to learn a modern language, which inspectors have confirmed builds on, rather than replaces, the “languages for all” policy for pupils up to the age of 16. Other issues, which local authorities are asked to consider, include the employment of foreign languages assistants (dropped in the past by many authorities as a cost-cutting measure) “to allow pupils to put their languages to real use in contact with native speakers”.

Citizens of a Multilingual World also stresses: the need to secure modern languages in the upper school curriculum; the role of computers and, high up on the Government’s agenda, the key contribution which learning a language can make towards economic regeneration.

No one in Scotland is so naive as to suggest that we have finally found the answer to the British disease of monolingual complacency.

The Scottish Parliament has shown its “independence” from Westminster in a number of widely reported legislations, most recently in the fox-hunting debate. We have always been proud of our historically separate system of education, despite some imperfections. However, on such a crucial issue as the teaching of modern languages, it is unfortunate that England is not following Scotland’s example for the greater good of its citizens and, not least, for the image of the whole of the United Kingdom in Europe.

John Muir is an adviser with the Highland Council and is Modern Languages in the Primary School co-ordinator.

Citizens of a Multilingual World ISBN 1 84268 096 X Published by the Stationery Office, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AZ Tel: 0870 606 55 66