Foreign language learning and inclusion: Who? Why? What?- and How?

Abstract

The presumption of mainstream schooling and the removal of core status for foreign language learning at Key Stage 4 are presenting new challenges to our ideal of foreign language learning for all. In the current climate, the case for including children with special educational needs in foreign language classes has to be made with greater clarity than ever. In this article Hilary McColl considers what foreign language learning is really for and how we can justify its inclusion in the curriculum of all our young people. She suggests that for all learners, whatever their ability, foreign language learning only makes sense if it is set within the context of the communities that use the language, and that for some learners these twin concepts of ‘communication’ and ‘community’ can only be understood if we make explicit links between what is distant-and-strange and what is close-and-familiar. She asks whether the courses we currently offer can achieve the outcomes we say we desire, and suggests what steps we need to take to make them more fit for purpose.