Languages blitz in Brum

Oct 16 2006 By Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail

MON Dieu! councillors in Birmingham, concerned over the "collapse" of languages in the schools, have begun a campaign to address the problem.

The education scrutiny committee plans to target each primary and secondary school in a bid to ensure that every pupil has an opportunity to learn a new language.

The number of Birmingham pupils now achieving a language qualification at GCSE has fallen drastically to 51 per cent.

The Government is now looking to tackle the decline in languages by making the subject compulsory at primary school from 2009, but the city's education scrutiny committee wants to put language learning back on the school agenda now, and to increase its popularity.

Coun Jon Hunt, the committee chairman, said: "We need to build on our strengths as a multi-lingual city and want to encourage a learning environment which gives opportunities for all our children to learn languages.

"We also want to encourage pupils for whom English is a second language to learn a new foreign language.

"Learning a new language for them should enhance their ability to learn English and help them to cope in a bilingual environment."

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