Children's experience of foreign language learning in primary school

Since the statutory introduction of Foreign Languages in the Key Stage Two national curriculum in England (DfE, 2013), it has remained an outlier, with full implementation yet to be achieved. Whilst many countries have embraced early foreign language learning within their prescribed curricula, across England, national aims for foreign language learning (FLL) remain unfulfilled, despite having been expressed for many years. A substantial evidence base exists about what is taught and teachers’ perceptions of the new subject, however, little is known about how children themselves experience and respond to learning this new curriculum subject. This thesis seeks to address that gap.

This longitudinal, ethnographic study explores children’s experiences of FLL across three schools in South-East England. It provides new insights into children’s FLL, revealing them as active agents of their own and others’ FLL, with much potential to yet tap into. Evidence suggests children took their FLL seriously. In the absence of specific instruction or recognition, children actively sought to make sense of the FL, drawing on their mother tongue and other knowledge. In seeking to make the best of their own, and other’s FLL, children scaffolded their FLL through a sub-culture of learning developed amongst themselves as a close, class community. This operated largely under the radar of teachers, who tended to focus on delivery and documenting content coverage within a broad climate of performativity. A disjointed experience for children was otherwise revealed, not just between settings but also within the same setting and class. Children’s FLL was found to be ‘othered’ and subject to practices that arguably neglected the relative merits of an earlier start to FLL. Evidence suggests academically able children and those from reportedly socio-economically advantaged backgrounds were conferred more time, continuity, and activities more suited to their abilities and wider experiences than others.

Children’s experiences are understood through sociological lenses informed by Blumer’s (1969) symbolic interactionist theory and Margonis’ (2011) concept of ‘educational events’. Data is analysed in relation to a combination of Emirbayer & Mische’s (1998) concept of agency, Biesta’s (2010) three functions of education and Hargreaves’ (1994) ‘experiential coherence’. Data was gathered over a period of four years with findings emerging from an inductive process of analysis and reflection