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9 Teaching and learning
During their visits HM Inspectors considered the quality of teaching and learning in a number of language courses which varied in length, were pitched at different levels and designed for various purposes. From the work seen three characteristics emerged as central to successful language learning at the post-16 stage: the suitability of the courses in meeting the vocational and educational needs of the students; an appropriate balance of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing); and the opportunity for students to play an active part in language learning and to develop their capacities for independent study. In making assessments HM Inspectors took account of the demands made by examinations and the influence which these might have on styles of teaching, the pressures on individual lecturers required to teach across a wide range of courses and the constraints imposed by lack of time on some courses and by poor facilities in others. At the same time they appreciated the considerable opportunities for teaching and learning made possible by good provision of resources in some institutions.
GCE courses
In approximately two-thirds of all the classes seen following O- and A-level courses students were achieving a measure of success. Much of the work was geared to passing examinations. To that end it was purposeful, often thorough and followed a traditionally formal pattern with a heavy concentration on the learning of grammar and on translation. A typical example would be the reading of a text by the teacher and then by individual students, the teacher correcting their pronunciation where necessary. Obstacles to understanding would be explained, either in the foreign language or in English, questions on the text would be asked and answered and a written exercise set to test understanding. Written work would consist of essays and translation into and from the foreign language. Within the limits of this type of approach much of the teaching was competent, but it tended to lack pace and urgency and there was at times little allowance for the varied and often inadequate linguistic background of the students. Many learning exercises tended to be examination exercises, rehearsed over and over again. This approach was sometimes the result of a conscious decision to provide, particularly for weaker students, a secure framework for the development of skills but, frequently, insufficient thought had been given to the objectives of the work and success depended largely on student motivation. The response of the students was often somewhat inhibited, however, by this heavy concentration on examination preparation. The majority were working hard and remained content to absorb information and reproduce it at the appropriate time in the appropriate form.
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They were engaged in practising the language skills of speaking, reading and writing in a rather narrow and circumscribed way responding only to minimum demands of the examination. This style of work, which did not necessarily produce examination success, tended to restrict their opportunities to improve their spoken and written performance and to develop wider reading and listening skills.
This was not, however, the whole story. About a quarter of all O- and A-level classes were characterised by teaching and learning of high quality - good pace, an imaginative and varied approach and the use of a range of media as sources and stimuli. In these classes, students were encouraged to participate as fully as they were able in the work, nearly always by the use of contemporary and relevant material collected by the teacher and duplicated for distribution. In one A-level class, for example, students were presented with a large collection of texts from various sources on oil spillages as an introduction to the theme of pollution and technology. The purpose of the class was to introduce the theme by means of discussion mainly in the foreign language, followed by gist reading of some of the texts, This was followed by intensive study of one short section, study of another section being set for homework. In the same college two O-level groups were seen with a comparable approach - interesting texts, with some suspense and humour, good use of the foreign language and frequent contributions from students. In both these classes the intention was to practise certain structures and to widen vocabulary in a well conceived progression to a specific objective (O-level) in a limited time. In a similar class in another college students were invited to recall and extend a story that they had heard and were encouraged to use language with confidence. Teaching of high quality was seen in a class in which the teacher gave an excellent impromptu talk in French to A-level students on the elections which were taking place at the time. Students were absorbed and interested enough to interrupt with questions, to take notes and to comment briefly in French. Where such opportunities for developing skills were offered and greater involvement was encouraged, students were usually responsive and work of high quality resulted.
Qualities of teaching similar to those described above characterised the best of the work seen which involved the use of audio-visual resources. Where these were being used most profitably, it was usually as a stimulus or reinforcement and as part of a more diversified approach. In one college, for example, A-level students were working from a collection of press articles dealing with an aspect of contemporary France. They were being encouraged to exercise the four language skills by listening to interviews and dialogue on tape in the language laboratory, responding orally and in writing, using the material both as a basis for translation and essay writing and as a stimulus for further reading. In another, a discussion in the foreign language on current affairs was well supported by a collection of relevant newspaper cuttings, pictures and maps. Attention was drawn to key structures and vocabulary by the use of overhead projector transparencies and a tape recording
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related to the events under discussion was played in order to direct students' listening and improve aural comprehension. In a third discussion, a theme in the foreign language was reinforced by the showing of a video tape recording of a BBC broadcast, students' attention again having been directed in advance to certain key features.
The quality of the use of audio-visual resources, however, varied considerably. In about a third of the classes it appeared to make little significant contribution to the quality of learning. This was usually because the use of equipment was either inappropriate, unskilfully exploited or technically deficient. In one class, for example, a slide projector was used as a stimulus for discussion but the technique for questioning was so poorly developed that little more than monosyllabic answers were provided and any impact which the material might have had was lost. This contrasted strikingly with a class in which conversation was stimulated by colour slides. Instead of being content with superficial descriptions the teacher asked searching questions to make students draw inferences from what they saw and express them in the foreign language. In another, the impact of a tape recording was lost through the bad positioning of the tape recorder. There was evidence, too, that the potential of the language laboratory was not being fully exploited, often because too little attention had been given to the techniques required for the development of listening skills. For example, when aural comprehension was being practised students were too rarely required to listen initially without the support of a written text and too few attempts were made to check that students had understood the main points of what they had heard. Students' recorded responses were insufficiently used as a basis for further work and it was rare to find listening tasks being set for homework even when the necessary cassette recorders were available for this purpose.
A conspicuous feature of work of high quality was the use of the foreign language in the classroom. The overriding impression gained was that the foreign language was used in a substantial number of the lessons seen. This alone, however, did not guarantee success. More than one class was seen in which the language was consistently used without the students understanding much of what was being said. Similarly, indiscriminate mixing of the foreign language and English was generally unhelpful where constant interruptions in English tended to devalue the use of the foreign language and prevent any sustained practice in comprehension and response. Although intended to help students, this use of English often did exactly the opposite. On occasion, however, when handled with sensitivity and skill the mixing of the two languages was effective. In a discussion in an A-level class on the theme of sources of energy some introductory questioning took place in English before the main exercise in order to focus students' attention and later to reinforce detailed understanding. In another A-level class students were clearly able, in an extended period of examination practice involving a number of different exercises, to move from the foreign language into English and back again without strain.
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One particularly effective way of making good use of the foreign language in the classroom can be to involve the foreign language assistant alongside the teacher. This was seen to work well on one occasion when the assistant was present as consultant and participant and where the use of the language as the medium of communication was accepted as a matter of course. In another college an exercise with a post A-level class involved the teacher and the foreign assistant in a conversation recorded live in the language laboratory. Each speaking his own language, they played in turn the part of guide and visitor on a tour of the college. Students were first required to act as interpreters and then students, teacher and assistant produced translations which were compared, reworked and discussed. This is a technique which could well be adapted for use with less advanced classes.
Where literary texts were being studied a different approach was usually seen. Most of these classes were conducted in English and involved detailed translation of the text and exegesis by the teacher. One extreme example of poor practice was that of a halting and crude extempore translation into English by the teacher of what he had described as a beautiful piece of Spanish poetry. Another consisted of a lecture in English on a prescribed text which was described afterwards by the teacher as discussion. On occasion there was a good deal of 'spoon-feeding'. In one case students were provided with lists of vocabulary for each page of text since otherwise, it was claimed, they would not read the text at all. In another, students were supplied with a list of quotations to use in the examination. There was also work of good quality, however, where care was taken to preserve the feeling that it was works of literature which were being discussed and analysed. Here, as in language classes, students were involved by being encouraged to develop their own attitudes to the works studied. Thus, in an excellently judged attempt to generate discussion, a teacher deliberately criticised a book which the students were known to have enjoyed in order to provoke a particularly productive exchange of ideas. In another college introductory discussion in the foreign language of a prescribed play was followed by the detailed study of one scene, discussion being led by different students in turn from the group. In others, students were seen to be anxious to put their views and develop their arguments. They were often well prepared and knew what was expected of them.
The achievement of students following GCE courses was higher than those on other courses. Course objectives were also as appropriate to students' vocational and educational needs as the format of O- and A-level examinations allows. As many of the examples of work of high quality showed, an examination focus need not inhibit imaginative teaching and indeed may on occasion give students an added stimulus to study further and pursue their own interests within the subject.
There was often evidence from the inadequate use made of college libraries and other facilities that capacities for independent study were not well developed. In explanation of this, staff and students pointed to pressures of time and the burden of set work
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but where considerable thought had been given to building relevant work tasks into the programme, students were being encouraged particularly to read and listen more extensively and this resulted in work of high quality.
If students are to respond to such approaches the starting-point must be a sound basic knowledge of the foreign language and it is significant that there were usually two reasons for poor achievement. First, students with inadequate qualifications had been allowed to join inappropriate examination groups and had found the work beyond their capacity. Second, in groups of mixed ability and achievement insufficient attention was given to the needs of the individual learner.
Secretarial courses
The main characteristic of the teaching groups in the 16 to 18 age range on secretarial courses was their heterogeneity in language qualification and examination objectives. Many contained students with qualifications ranging from a Grade B at O-level to a Grade 5 at CSE. These students were mostly aiming at general language proficiency and the examinations for which they were preparing were general language examinations at an elementary level rather than those with a more specific vocational application. Not infrequently students in the same group were working for different examinations, some for O-level, some for Royal Society of Arts, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry or Institute of Linguists examinations, others for no examination at all. The difficulties with which the teachers of groups of this kind are faced will inevitably affect the quality of work. In addition to the high degree of professional skill required to teach such groups, the shortage of suitable published teaching materials and the absence of an appropriate examination for those with a relatively low standard of linguistic achievement can reduce the relevance of the work to students' needs and make student motivation all the more difficult.
In those colleges where student achievement on secretarial courses was good, success appeared to be linked with the degree of students' awareness of objectives. Thus in one post O-level Spanish class which involved some simple consecutive translation of a text on social security in Mexico the basic purposes of the exercise - language extension, gathering information and extempore translation - had been clearly explained to the students. In another post O-level French class designed to practise aural comprehension the purpose had again been made clear to students and, although the work was demanding, concentration and stamina were good. In a third class students' attention was directed to key phrases as an aid to comprehension of a video-recording which was in some ways linguistically too difficult for them. The good effects of student motivation could also be observed. In one group a business meeting, conducted in French, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of a recent foreign placement. The discussion was a real one in that the organisation of the next visit would be modified in the light of views expressed. In another, a second year post O-level class, students had started the language the previous year. Almost all had
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achieved a 'pass' grade at O-level and a Grade I pass in Institute of Linguists examination at the end of the first year and the effect of this examination success on motivation for the second year work was very evident.
A significant number of secretarial classes were seen in which the teaching was lively, imaginative and varied and where students were responding well to opportunities to develop appropriate language skills. In general, however, work of high quality was more rarely encountered and these students performed less well than those on GCE courses. The reasons for this have been suggested earlier. The mixed nature of many classes made it necessary to organise group work and opportunities for students to develop the appropriate language skills individually at their own level if worthwhile objectives were to be achieved. This is no easy task and in many cases the work lacked clearly defined terminal objectives and appeared to have little identifiable pattern. Teaching tended to rely heavily on the methods and materials used on other courses and developed for students with rather different aims. Linguistic activities were not always appropriate to these students' vocational needs and student motivation was at times poor. Some students were preparing for examination objectives which were not suited to their linguistic ability and in some groups, although students applied themselves as industriously as they were able, considerable dissatisfaction and resentment resulted in high drop-out rates and unimpressive examination results.
There is clearly a need for closer attention to the requirements of students on these courses. Where the best secretarial language work in the 16 to 18 age range was seen, success was to some extent due to the careful definition of examination objectives in terms of students' language qualifications on entry and in a small number of cases to the development of new courses for the linguistically less able.
Secretarial courses offered to students in the 16 to 18 age range formed only a part of the total work in this area: a substantial number of students were engaged on post A-level or postgraduate secretarial courses and were mainly preparing for examinations with a specific vocational application. Although these courses fell outside the scope of this survey a number of classes were observed during visits. The generally high quality of work provided an interesting contrast with that of the less advanced work. It was clear, for instance, that considerable efforts had gone into course development and the preparation of detailed schemes of work. Attention was focused on setting specific vocational objectives and linguistic activities were closely related to these. Thus learning often appeared to have a greater sense of purpose, students' linguistic strengths - particularly oral - were fully exploited and individual programmes were designed to give support in areas of weakness. In general students on these courses responded with enthusiasm and enjoyment to the work. It was disappointing that the less advanced courses frequently lacked the advantage of an equally professional and rigorous approach.
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OND in business studies courses
The numbers of students studying a modern language on OND courses in business studies were small and they were often taught together with students on secretarial or GCE courses. It was therefore difficult to assess separately the quality of teaching and learning for this particular course and much of what has been said of the provision for students on secretarial and GCE courses applies also to that for OND students.
Where the students were in separate groups work was closely tied to examination objectives. These included translation from and into English, written comprehension, the composition of business letters, essays in the foreign language and oral work. The following examples reveal an imaginative approach. In one class what might have been a rather dull exercise involving the translation of a business letter was enlivened by being put into the framework of a discussion. Students' responses showed interest and enthusiasm and relationships were very good; the lecturer had accompanied the whole group abroad the previous summer to give students first-hand experience of the foreign country. In one college the lecturer in charge of the course had developed his own materials and these were presented in a varied way involving the use of audio-visual sources. A good balance between fluency and accuracy was maintained.
In nearly half the classes seen in this category, however, teaching did not appear to be as well adjusted to the needs and abilities of the students as it might have been. There were a number of reasons for this. Many OND students were not among the linguistically most gifted and therefore found aspects of the work very demanding. Where they were taught in groups with students on other courses the work was not always geared sufficiently closely to their specific requirements. At times staff were not fully conversant with the aims of the course and the ways in which these could best be achieved. Consequently although many students seemed prepared to make an effort they appeared to be insufficiently involved to produce work of high quality.
Hotel and catering courses
Language study on courses leading to employment in the hotel and catering industry was subject to a number of difficulties. Students were not selected for these courses on the basis of linguistic ability and therefore, as on secretarial courses, teaching groups contained a wide range of ability and achievement. Very often the language element was compulsory. Moreover, there was also often a discrepancy between the linguistic objectives set by the hotel and catering department and the arrangements under which they were expected to be achieved. Many groups on these courses were taught by part-time lecturers who were not involved in course development. These difficulties combined to produce a situation in which linguistic objectives had little relevance either to students' abilities or to their future occupations. In short, expectations were often unrealistic.
Consequently comparatively little work of good quality was seen on courses of this kind. Linguistic activities were frequently confined to learning lists of words, mastering grammatical structures and translating isolated sentences. Students were exposed to minimal
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continuous use of the foreign language. The only concession made to their vocational needs lay in the choice of some specialised vocabulary, often selected with little consultation with the hotel and catering department. Where video and taped material was used it was often for passive listening rather than as a stimulus for participation and was not presented in a way suitable for a mixed ability or mixed achievement group. Work of this kind was often featured on courses which allowed only a total of one hour a week for language study. Some of the difficulties might have been alleviated if the equivalent time had been allocated in a block or a number of blocks so that more intensive language work could have taken place.
Some examples of good practice were seen. One class began with a talk in both English and French on 'Restaurants in Paris': this evoked professional comment from the students. At the same time they were encouraged to try out words and phrases in French and to use them in context, thereby building up interest and confidence. These students' work for the term consisted of compiling, from a variety of recommended sources, files of information, illustration and comment using as many French phrases as possible. On another course, for hotel receptionists, the work was based on situations. Students had to play the roles of both customer and management in a complaint over a bill. In a third, again for hotel receptionists, the lecturer, faced with a mixed achievement group, had identified four distinct levels. Students were all working in the language laboratory, three groups on different BBC courses, while the fourth worked on a post O-level course. The lecturer dealt with the problems of each group in turn and although the arrangement was not without its difficulties morale was high and students were working hard. There were one or two examples of role-playing and group work simulating the kinds of situations in which students might eventually find themselves. It was apparent that an essential ingredient for success was that students should be encouraged to use the foreign language in realistic contexts, relevant to their vocational needs. Two examples might serve as illustrations. A group of receptionists in their fifth term of German showed a good working knowledge of basic structure and a sufficiently wide vocabulary to be able to converse on a current issue. These students had recently returned from industrial placements where they had become aware of the advantages of foreign language skills and were appreciative of a course geared to the kind of situation which they knew they were likely to encounter later. In another, craft caterers without entry qualifications, including some with no previous linguistic experience, were being introduced to simple vocabulary and very basic conversation closely allied to the catering trade. This was clearly something of a struggle but progress was being made: students were working and benefiting from the opportunity to learn a language for the first time. In both these examples there was close liaison between the language section and the hotel and catering department.
Other courses
Courses for other groups of students such as nursery nurses or police cadets and general studies courses represented a very small proportion of the whole. Too few of these were seen during the visits
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to make any general qualitative judgement possible. Such evidence as there was suggested that the importance of setting realistic objectives related to students' vocational needs and linguistic abilities was no less crucial than on hotel and catering courses.
Summary
The work observed on all courses shared a number of features related to teaching styles and to the effects of these on student learning. First, a substantial amount of good teaching was seen in which realistic objectives had been set, often in terms of examinations, and where material had been well prepared and imaginatively presented and supported by the good use of resources. This produced conditions for learning in which students, in response, were able to achieve high standards in the development of linguistic skills. Where teaching was more narrowly circumscribed by the demands of examinations, however, there was a tendency to rely on the teacher and the text-book as the sole sources of language with the student remaining in the position of a receiver of information rather than a participant. This approach did not present the student with as full an educational experience as the learning of a foreign language can offer; there were fewer opportunities for developing wider skills, particularly of reading and listening, and the capacity for independent study. Second, within the individual teacher's repertoire more differentiation could have been made in the approach to different courses. While it is recognised that to teach across a wide range of different courses makes considerable demands on teaching skills and often imposes a heavy burden of preparation, it is also essential to isolate and define the specific linguistic demands of the various courses. The diversity of courses on offer did not lead to an equivalent diversity of teaching styles and this tended to reduce their impact and impair their relevance to student's needs. Third, teaching strengths varied considerably from individual to individual. It was a matter for regret, however, that good ideas, successful techniques and stimulating material were not always shared among staff, who tended to work in isolation; this applied particularly to part-time staff. Thus good practice was often confined to individuals instead of being disseminated throughout the section. This was particularly noticeable where two or more staff shared responsibility for a course, since without joint planning the students' experience tended to lack coherence. Finally, although groups in all these categories frequently contained students of different abilities, at different stages of linguistic development and with varying motivation, most of those seen were small and conditions were such that more examples of individual attention to students' needs might have been expected. Resources were often available for this type of work but were frequently under-used.
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10 Matters for discussion
College practice
HM Inspectors found a wide variation in the circumstances in which modern languages were taught. There were differences in systems of organisation, staffing and resources. The quality of course management, of teaching observed and of students' achievement varied considerably. From this diversity of practice it is possible to focus attention on a number of important issues; important not only to the colleges but to all those concerned with the provision and evaluation of further education, particularly LEAs and examining bodies.
There were a few colleges where strong teams of staff, well-directed by a team leader and well supported within the college, were engaged upon work which was on the whole thoughtfully planned, imaginatively and thoroughly executed, and more than a mere response to existing demand. In other colleges there were individuals or small groups of staff who were achieving success in some aspects of their work despite the handicap of less fortunate circumstances. In colleges where there was less evidence of good practice shortcomings were often the result of fragmentation; fragmentation of the accommodation, in organisation and staffing, in the development and management of courses and at times in the teaching itself.
Colleges need to consider the following suggestions for strengthening their work. A designated subject leader, with specified responsibilities related to his status, might be asked to undertake the detailed thinking on course management discussed in Chapters 6 and 8. If the amount and level of work were not sufficient for the leader to have senior status, some of the responsibility for leadership, guidance and planning might be shared by a member of staff at the level of head of department. whose role would be that of giving active support to a junior team.
It is also advisable for modern language staff to be located together as one section, in the department which provides the best support and the best opportunities for valuable exchanges of views. Whatever the chosen location, finn lines of communication need to be established between the linguists and all the directors of the courses to which they contribute, so that the special needs of each type of course and student can be thoroughly explored.
Working together is naturally easier if there is a suite of rooms which the language staff normally use, where they can arrange displays, organise their materials and make effective use of resources. At times, of course, it is appropriate to locate some of the teaching in the students' home departments, for example a hotel reception or catering area for role-playing or practical work, or a room containing telephone equipment for secretarial students. There is a need for planned allocation of those resources and forms of support
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which can most effectively be made available on a college-wide basis and those which are best provided departmentally.
Within this framework modern language staff need to draw up detailed plans for teaching and learning. This can perhaps best be done, not through asking lecturers to produce independent programmes for each of their classes, but, after the section leader has clarified overall aims, through the interchange of ideas and experience of all the staff involved, including part-time staff whose work may otherwise be carried out in isolation.
Courses should be related to the aptitudes, previous experience and interests of the students, to their educational aims and to their future employment. For each course there should be a written scheme of work, including all those aspects to which reference was made in Chapter 8. The selection of appropriate examinations should be made at this point, in the light of aims, aptitudes and needs. Examinations may well however have been determined a priori; in this case, it is all the more important for staff to analyse carefully the requirements of the examination.
The adjustment of courses to groups of students of a wide range of attainment has organisational implications. In hotel, catering and secretarial courses, it can be of great benefit for students to be taught in groups which take some account of previous experience and aptitude. It is never easy to claim that a minor element in a course is a special case and to ask for conditions of work which might adversely affect major elements in that course. Language learning, however, is usually best accomplished in company with other learners of comparable attainment and in a systematic way. With relatively small groups and good teaching it is possible for sufficient individual attention to be given without time being wasted and for some whole-group working to take place which is of benefit to all. Groups of students of disparate experience, however, soon find that they have little in common and the teacher is set difficult problems of arranging sub-groups and divergent programmes. Where groups are large, it is advisable to explore other organisational arrangements, such as setting.
Colleges should ensure that students are not enrolled on courses in which they have little chance of success. Careful selection procedures in which modern language staff participate can avoid some false starts; where a student's weaknesses (or strengths) become apparent only when it may be too late to change courses, staff might bear in mind other examinations for which the student may be entered as an alternative. A policy which cannot be recommended, however, is to try to prepare students for two incompatible examinations at once.
Course management also involves the coordination of teaching between lecturers and between groups. Where students have several hours of tuition per week in one language it is sometimes desirable for them to be taught by more than one member of staff. This may be particularly so when for unavoidable reasons all the teaching for the week is concentrated into one three-hour period. When teaching is shared, the value of a comprehensive scheme of work for the course is especially evident, as is regular consultation
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between the staff involved. Moreover, once objectives have been clarified in terms of language skills, it becomes possible to draw up a joint scheme for monitoring and assessing students' progress according to common criteria.
Opportunities should be taken to meet other staff in the college who have similar interests for joint discussion of common aspects of work. In addition, meetings of the language staffs of colleges within reach of each other in an area can give encouragement and develop into seminars on topics such as the preparation and use of materials for special purposes. Where circumstances are favourable, expertise available in colleges which have particular strengths could be used to provide in-service training. There can also be benefit to all colleges from contacts with secondary schools and with industrial and commercial organisations in the area and from consideration of ways of providing intensive courses or other forms of additional foreign language experience for students. The LEA has a part to play as a facilitator of contact between its colleges and between colleges and schools.
In all these suggestions there is the common theme of cooperation between members of staff working as a team. The demands made on modern language staff in colleges of further education - like those made on staff teaching other skill subjects of wide application - are diverse and often difficult both to define and to meet. A wide range of professional skills is required. There are also time-consuming tasks of seeking out and building up a large collection of materials, some of which will of necessity be home-made. Exchange of experience and sharing of tasks can increase the effectiveness of every teacher and make it more likely that students will be taught according to their different needs.
Courses
In the colleges visited, the range of modern language courses was broader and more substantial than in many colleges elsewhere. Modern languages are, however, among those subjects which, because they cross departmental boundaries, are especially vulnerable to the defects arising from fragmentation. Colleges need to be aware that, whatever their main organisational structure, it is desirable to clarify the role and position of the subjects taught, especially where they are included in a wide range of courses.
A first step for colleges might be to analyse in some detail the present and future needs of their students. An analysis of the range of courses, students, staffing and accommodation would enable colleges to appraise their present situation in two ways. They might consider whether the range of languages, the levels at which they are taught and the examination and non-examination objectives are always appropriate. They might consider further whether modern languages could usefully be offered to students for whom there is at present no provision.
Attention needs to be drawn to certain limitations in the current range of modern language courses in further education. The first matter of interest is the present scope of courses for business occupations. Languages appear to have established a firm hold in secretarial courses but not, in terms of numbers of students taking
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a language option, in those leading to OND, nor in courses or examinations for any of the professional bodies (for example the Institute of Bankers or the major accountancy bodies). There are some marketing or even overseas trade courses where there appears to be no foreign language element. Two questions might be raised here: first, whether there is not a case for including a foreign language element as widely in business studies courses as in courses for hotel and catering students and secondly, whether more time might be made available for some of the elementary courses, so that more students could achieve useful levels of competence. It would indeed be appropriate for business studies students especially to have opportunities, not available in the present OND courses, to study a language from a low level of initial knowledge to a high level of performance.
In the second place it is noticeable that for electrical, mechanical or production engineering students or for those studying science there is almost no opportunity at this level to follow a language course as an ancillary skill or for personal interest. In both schools and further education only a small number of future scientists and engineers take up or maintain a language as an ancillary skill between the ages of 16 and 18, even though there are students of science and technology in whose future careers language skills may be needed. It is not only the ablest students, who may be aiming at higher education and ultimately at a senior role in industry, who may need to communicate with speakers of other languages. Staff at many levels are increasingly likely to need to understand matters concerning foreign industry and trade, or perhaps to wish to work abroad for a while. At a moment when the structure of technical and business education is changing, under the guidance of the Technician and Business Education Councils, it is timely to consider whether more opportunities might be made available and more encouragement given to science and technology students of varying abilities to follow a language course while at college.
Third, the most notable characteristic of the non-advanced work is its dependence upon the pattern of provision and achievement in schools. In staffing, courses and languages offered and levels of achievement, the majority of colleges exhibit a familiar pattern in which French is invariably dominant, German and Spanish follow some way behind - although Spanish is perhaps somewhat stronger than in schools - and Italian and Russian are occasionally found where circumstances are favourable. It is appropriate to ask whether there is not room in further education not only for more encouragement of continuation courses for languages studied in school, but also for a wider range of beginners' courses in other languages. Despite the fact that surveys have shown that those languages taught in schools are not needed in the same proportions in industry and commerce, it is noticeable that opportunities for and encouragement to students to take up other languages are as yet markedly limited. Even beginners' courses in German and Spanish appear to be followed mainly as additional languages by students already taking continuation courses in French; that is, students who think of themselves as linguists are likely to add
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another language, whereas students who are studying a language as an ancillary subject are more likely simply to continue with French. Further, whichever language is chosen the objective should not be solely vocational but should be to increase the student's confidence in language learning and thus prepare him for the acquisition of other languages later on, as the need arises.
Where continuation courses are concerned, colleges are naturally dependent upon the languages which 16 year olds have to offer and the levels of proficiency attained. Even so, there is one kind of entry qualification which school-leavers offer for which there are as yet few clear continuation routes. Between 1970 and 1976 the number of pupils achieving Grades 2 to 4 in CSE language examinations greatly increased. For such students the only courses offered are frequently those leading to an O- or even an A-level qualification.
The development of special purpose language teaching has been in some ways greatly assisted by the existence of independent examinations. Although in the past examination bodies such as the Institute of Linguists and the Royal Society of Arts were influenced by the academic thinking of the university examination boards, they have been able in more recent years to adjust objectives and syllabuses to changing needs. Together with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with its more recently developed examinations, they have given valuable leadership to many language staff in their search for appropriate courses. But these examinations, together with the examinations forming an integral part of OND (and HND) courses and GCE examinations, constitute a multiplicity of provision which has become difficult to manage. The objectives and the standards required are rightly diverse but are uncoordinated and what could be a source of flexibility often causes confusion as staff try to assess the merits and feasibility of one against another. By no means all syllabuses are detailed and precise in describing the standards of performance expected (as distinct from examples of the kinds of test set). The view of many lecturers is that the most fruitful long-term aim would be for a series of well-defined levels of performance to be nationally agreed between examining bodies and for all specialist examinations to be linked with these.
There is in further education a degree of freedom to experiment and to provide courses which respond to needs. A reappraisal of opportunities for language learning for students in the 16 to 18 age range has led to some welcome new departures. The development of a college policy for modern languages, based on an assessment of the current situation and looking ahead to possible changes is an essential first step which cannot be taken in isolation either from the rest of the college's activities or from the circumstances in the catchment area. The planning of language work in many colleges would benefit from more detailed information than was found during the survey about the provision in other institutions within an LEA and about the range of potential support from industry and commerce in the area. This information should be made available by the LEA to all of its educational institutions.
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The individual initiatives of colleges, however, may not be sufficient to develop a coherent pattern of provision. It has been shown in this survey that provision within colleges tends to be fragmentary and to lack an agreed policy. Modern language staff themselves referred not infrequently to the frustration which they felt at their inability to achieve improvements in certain important areas. It is desirable that each LEA should have up to date information about course provision within each of its colleges and schools and be in a position to evaluate their practices and adopt a constructive coordinating role. Progress towards a coherent policy requires guidance nationally if an agreed range of language provision at appropriate levels and with pertinent objectives is to become available.
