"Early language learning is long-term investment" - McKinty

An Ulster Unionist councillor has branded a recend decision to end funding for primary school language programmes as 'unsurprising but disappointingly short-sighted'. Cllr Mark McKinty, who is a Larne Lough representative on the new Mid & East Antrim Borough Council, has raised concerns following the announcement by the Education Minister, John O'Dowd, last month.

"My language learning began in Year 8 of secondary school, aged 11. From Years 8-10 we studied 2 years each of French, German, and Spanish. I decided to continue with Spanish for GCSE and A-Level, whilst German was ruled out due to timetabling issues. I began my university studies with Accounting and Spanish, later completing a Masters and PhD in Hispanic Studies."

"Endless studies have shown that language learning must begin as early as possible in order to have the greatest impact and to bear more substantial, long-lasting results. We all learned our own mother language by total submersion from the day and hour we were born, first listening, then first words, followed by learning to read and write."

Cllr McKinty worked in the secondary school IES Sierra Morena in Andújar, one of the first bilingual centres in southern Spain.

Cllr McKinty is also a PhD candidate in Hispanic Studies and teaching assistant in the School of Modern Languages at the Queen's University of Belfast. He previously taught English in southern Spain in a pilot programme which sought to create a large number of bilingual schools. He also worked in the Spanish department of Nissan's international marketing and customer care centre.

"I support primary and even nursery language programmes - early language learning is a long-term investment not only in the young people adquiring the new skills, but it also contributes to the local community and economy in a number of ways."

Cllr McKinty picture with Grace and Stephen, owners of award-winning Stealth Translations Ltd based in Larne.

"The immediate benefits of learning a second language are somewhat obvious, extending from ordering a meal in a French restaurant to conversing with locals in a small Italian village. Indirect skills acquired from the process include confidence, more opportunities, and a number of health and wellbeing benefits, as studies have shown."

"Language learning is essential for the modern world in which we live, with ever-increasing influences and opportunities from all four corners of the globe. Local Larne-based company Stealth Translations base their entire business model on the interaction of languages within business, government, and communities across the world. Language not only presents us with the opportunity to export goods and services abroad, but also to import, have a greater role in international tourism, and to improve all facets of society. Many European funding programmes require cooperation between groups in different areas of Europe, most of which requires knowledge of at least one other language. All these benefits are in addition to the increased cultural awareness gained from learning about ancient cultures through written records from their time."

"I am very pleased that fellow Ulster Unionists also recognise the long-term need to invest in our young people and the potential wealth of benefits which this would bring. Pulling this programme may be an unsurprising but disappointinly short-sighted attempt to balance the books, but the bigger picture will see our already worryingly inadequate levels of second language knowledge continue to fall. I am proud that the Ulster Unionist party supports an education system in which languages would play a significant role".

Ulster Unionists Jim Nicholson MEP, Danny Kinahan MLA, party leader Mike Nesbitt MLA, and Cllr Mark McKinty

Ulster Unionist MLA and Education spokesperson Danny Kinahan has challenged the Minister for Education to produce evidence that the primary modern language programme was not delivering. The scheme saw tutors go into primary schools to introduce pupils to foreign languages.

Mr Kinahan said: "The Minister for Education announced at the start of March that all funding for the Primary Modern Languages Programme would cease at the end of March. This was after his budget had been voted through by the DUP and Sinn Fein. It was also without any prior notice for the 100 peripatetic language tutors who had been delivering the programme, or any detailed discussion with the Education Committee who are meant to scrutinise the decision making of the Minister".

"This is no way to do government. I have challenged the Minister about the teaching of languages to primary school children at Question Time on the floor of the Assembly, and have been surprised by his response. More than just his normal line blaming everyone else for budget cuts, he has questioned the effectiveness of the programme, and suggested that it was not encouraging young people to go on to take modern languages later in their school career.  He said, “Over the seven years that the programme has been running, we have actually seen a slight slippage in the number of young people taking GCSEs and A levels in modern languages.”

 “How on earth can the Minister judge the programme based on numbers of pupils going on to study for GCSEs and A levels when the oldest pupils who were exposed to the language programme in Primary schools from 2007, would only now be in Year 10 (4^th Form) at secondary school?  The core programme was for P1 to P4 classes, it simply has not been in place long enough to be fully evaluated.  I have placed another question at the Assembly asking the Minister to reveal his evidence base."

 “The Minister goes on to suggest that individual schools have the option to continue to teach languages out of their own resources.  At this stage, with the new financial year upon us and school budgets already planned, this is a completely unrealistic suggestion.  I fear that in the immediate future there is unlikely to be any language provision at primary schools in Northern Ireland.  In contrast, the teaching of modern foreign languages like French, Spanish and German in primary schools, is being prioritised in the rest of the United Kingdom. This whole area needs to be looked at again.  We need a centrally organised programme which offers tutors a degree of job security and primary schools a reliable and committed resource for their pupils.”

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson, has slammed the decision by the Education Minister, John O’Dowd, to axe a modern languages programme for primary schools.

The Primary Modern Language Programme was introduced in 2007 to support primary schools in teaching another language. Minister O’Dowd announced at the beginning of the month that the programme would cease on 31^st March.

Criticising the decision, Mr Nicholson said; “I am disappointed that the Minister plans to terminate the Primary Modern Languages Programme by the end of March. Working in the European political arena, I recognise the merits of having a second language. Never having learned another language is something I regret."

“When it comes to speaking languages, the United Kingdom lags way behind the rest of Europe. The effect of this means that sometimes the UK is not as well represented in the Commission secretariat and other EU institutions as it could and should be.”

“A second language is hugely advantageous if you wish to live and work elsewhere in the European Union, or even when seeking partners for EU funded projects. Learning another language from a young age provides perhaps the best opportunity to achieve fluency, something our European neighbours are acutely aware of."

“I believe, with this decision, the Minister is undervaluing the benefits of language learning, in terms of skills, employability and mobility for the future. The Primary Modern Language Programme operates in 54% of primary schools across Northern Ireland, so not only will scrapping this programme leave language tutors out of work at relatively short notice, but it will also leave many children worse off."

“Furthermore, it is disgraceful that a modern language programme is being axed at the same time as the Minister for Education is approving proposals for a new Irish medium secondary school near Dungiven, which is neither viable nor financially sustainable.

“This programme should not be axed and I urge the Minister to seriously rethink this short-sighted decision.”

ENDS