From Policy to Practice: Language Education, English Teaching and Curriculum Reform in Secondary Schools in England

Abstract

This paper reports research on the place of language study in the implementation of the statutory national curriculum in schools in England. It argues that language education has been an area of contestation and confusion within curriculum reform. It also argues that dogmatic and narrow definitions of language study proposed by politicians, emphasising standard English and grammar, have not only resulted in resistance from teachers, but have also served to mask more complex issues about the place of language study within the school curriculum and its relationship to English as a subject. Drawing on data from an empirical study in a sample of schools in England, the paper examines the attitudes and beliefs of teachers about the purpose and content of language study and the most appropriate methods by which it should be taught.