Sir, Katie Harvey is right when she refers to the Government’s plan to bring language learning into primary schools as “a massive step forward” (letter, Feb 1 ), but wrong in her assumption that compulsion at GCSE will provide the cure for our linguistic woes.
If the first of these measures is implemented sincerely, with adequate resources, then there will be no need for the second. If all primary school pupils are introduced naturally to one or more foreign languages, this will go a long way towards combating the antagonism which they feel when suddenly confronted with them at the age of 11 and will, I am convinced, eventually ensure an adequate flow of students who wish to go on to a higher level.
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But this will imply a total rethinking of language courses in the secondary sector. The present secondary course books, which begin from scratch, will all have to be scrapped and a co-ordinated plan of language teaching put in place, beginning at primary level and ending at GCSE, with an entirely new range of course books. This may take some time, and I fear that Ms Harvey may no longer be there, when the new generation of hopeful (and fluent) students come knocking on the door of the University of Bradford.
donald graham
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East Boldon, Tyne and Wear