Addressing challenges in UK MFL education: is fundamental reform necessary?

This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the current issues in MFL education, advocating fundamental reform based on the Languages Ladder. It argues that student motivation can be boosted by making the curriculum more relevant to students' and employers' needs and incorporating IT software into teaching. The associated competence-based, 'can-do', approach to assessment supports improved primary-to-secondary transition and improves validity. Since the GCSE brand drives the curriculum, future revisions based on a Languages Ladder Assessment Scheme could pay multiple dividends and create a language learning framework for the twenty-first century.