Researching foreign language provision within the context of the multilingual school and community

Abstract

The Specialist Schools Initiative in England has urged schools to plan their teaching of foreign languages in relation to the linguistic needs and preferences of their local communities. The changing multilingual fabric of many parts of Britain make such a goal a potentially difficult and controversial process. This paper explores the views of a range of staff and students at two urban schools in England about the existing and preferred structuring of foreign language provision at their respective schools. Drawing on a small scale qualitative study, three main questions are addressed: How does a school define the concept of community and identify a community's needs? How can a school meet the linguistic needs and requirements of a multilingual community? What programmes of provision are in place or need to be in place to meet the various linguistic needs? One key finding from the research is that the conceptualisation of the community and the linguistic profiling of a catchment community by a secondary school remain problematic. Secondly, the views of senior management, FL co-ordinators, and students represent varying and at times conflicting priorities about provision of FLs in school. Thirdly, the authors suggest that a horizontally structured language programme based upon choice and equality with a relevance to the community may be an appropriate model for schools operating within the multilingual context.