The National Literacy Strategy — what's in it for modern language teachers?

Abstract

This article considers recent government documentation relating to the National Literacy Strategy and its relevance to the teaching of modern languages in secondary schools. It suggests ways in which modern language teachers might benefit from and contribute to the strategy. The article begins with a brief outline of the primary literacy strategy and suggests that it can provide learners with grammatical knowledge that will help them with learning a foreign language when they reach secondary school. Reference is made to the Key Stage 3 literacy strategy, and it is suggested that opportunities for modern language and English teachers to work together are being lost.