Abstract

In September 2014, foreign languages (FL) became a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum in England, with the clear expectation that learners should make “substantial progress in one language” (DfE, 2013) throughout the four years of language learning at primary school (age 7-11). However, schools face considerable difficulties (e.g., limited time, low teacher subject knowledge and confidence), exacerbated by a lack of clarity regarding core content and learning outcomes for language learning at this level. The absence of national assessments, coupled with limited research exploring children’s experiences with FL learning, makes it difficult to assess the feasibility of the National Curriculum guidance. In this talk, we will present the Progression in Primary Languages project; a longitudinal study tracking young learners’ linguistic development in French, German and Spanish over four years of learning at primary school in England, and examining the individual, instructional and contextual factors shaping language learning. We will initially discuss the design of the language tests developed for the project, using the vocabulary test as a case exemplar, and present initial results in relation to children’s linguistic progression. In the second part of the talk, we will focus on children’s attitudes towards language learning by comparing participants’ responses to a motivation questionnaire administered in 2023 and 2024. In light of the initial findings, we will draw a preliminary picture of children’s language progression and motivation during primary education in England.