Languages in schools: put down the textbook and pick up a drum

I’m sitting in a drumming workshop when the first instruction comes to make as much noise as possible. The children respond instantly – despite the fact that the drumming workshop is entirely in German. I’m at Siemens’ London headquarters, which has been transformed for a collaborative event between the Goethe Institut and Oasis Silvertown Academy. It’s just one of many activities put on for 400 excited primary and secondary students from eight schools in Newham to demonstrate that learning languages is more engaging when it’s interactive.

Faced with a new national curriculum of compulsory language teaching in primary education, teachers must find a way to motivate pupils in what’s often a brand new topic for them. A study released this year by the British Council found that 76% of state schools feel that implementing this – and GCSE – will be challenging. For many of those asked, the biggest challenge was motivating pupils.

Back at the event however engagement doesn’t seem to be a problem. With cable cars flying overhead, Rokeby Secondary and Britannia Village Primary School pupils are acting in Spanish and singing in French – some have only been learning the language a week. Hands-on tasks are key, says language teacher Francis O’Connell, from St Edward’s Catholic Primary School. “There’s no point just teaching them lists of vocab – when we do things like hide-and-seek, they’re screaming Spanish at the top of their lungs and don’t even think about the fact they’re speaking another language,” she explains. “Cooking and sport are now on my to-do list.”

The University of Chicago found, in August this year, that even hand gestures can help children retain spoken languages. Dr Susan Goldin-Meadow’s study on 50 toddlers and their parents found that gesticulation makes words easier to understand by adding imagery to the categorical distinctions that form the core of spoken and sign languages. Gestures are particularly useful for picking up nouns at an early age.

Yet British students are increasingly disillusioned with modern languages. It’s a worrying trend that’s seen a rippling effect in higher education. With the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) reporting in 2012 that the number of students opting for modern languages degrees has fallen by 9% over the past decade it’s clear that language learning needs to be less about grammar textbooks and more about practical engagement. Acceptances onto modern foreign language degree courses also dropped by 22% between 2010 and 2012.

“Sadly, many English pupils do not see the point of learning a modern language,” one teacher told the British Council. Literary texts make classes feel out-of-touch because they’re “inaccessible”, comments another.

Speaking about this difficulty to French and Spanish teacher, Mr Demart, from Little Ilford Secondary School, I ask: will you now change the way you teach languages? “I’m now thinking of using our school’s choir teacher and music department to do some extra things.”

The event also demonstrated how primary and secondary schools can form links – vital as 46% of primary schools recently surveyed by the British Council have no contact with language specialists at their local secondary. Student ambassadors were a key feature of the day, with pupils of all ages from London boroughs working together. “It’s a good way to practise leadership and it will help with languages,” said 13-year-old Alla Kheri, from Little Ilford Secondary School. Failure to connect and provide continuity in the Key Stage 2 to 3 transition was one of the most serious issues of the past academic year, the British Council found.

Cettina Russano, head of languages at Rokeby, told me the day reaffirmed for her that language teaching needs to be more engaging. “It’s about putting the language in context so they can use it straight away,” she says. “Today is making me think of organising an after-school Italian cooking club to get parents involved as well. If parents see the relevance, then they’ll motivate the students,” she explains.

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