Cross-subject Dialogue About Language: Attitudes and Perceptions of PGCE Students of English and Modern Languages

Abstract

This paper reports the initial findings of a small, local study of student teachers' attitudes and perceptions in the area of knowledge about language. It is part of an attempt to generate cross-subject dialogue about language between student teachers training to teach either English or Modern Languages in the mainstream curriculum in England and Wales in order to provide greater consistency and communication in the school curriculum. The study identifies some causes of tension in this dialogue. A key finding is a high level of anxiety among student teachers of English concerning their explicit knowledge of language structure. This was inhibiting their participation in the dialogue. The anxiety was not so apparent among student teachers of Modern Languages and seemed to be related to the difficulty of making implicit knowledge about language explicit when the language was closely related to the student's personal and social identity. The paper considers the causes of this anxiety and how to develop better communication between the two curriculum areas. One important suggestion is to rethink the direction of language transfer. Insights gained from the study of additional languages can be used for the contemplation of the L1 structure rather than the reverse.