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In this article, we offer a personal response to the interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR: Department forEducation (Dfe). 2025. Curriculum and Assessment Review: Interim Report. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report). The report pledges to undertake ‘deeper analysis to diagnose the specific issues affecting each subject’ (9). Our aim is therefore to contribute to this analysis in relation to Modern Languages in particular, and to offer concrete recommendations for the review panel. We argue that, to respond effectively to the challenges facing Modern Languages in schools, some elements of both evolution and revolution will be needed, as well as greater clarity about the aims and purposes of the subject and the nature of learning in its different strands. The article examines the place of Modern Languages at different stages of a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum, along with a number of related questions (including statutory requirements, assessment, and the choice of which language). We then discuss the nature of languages as a ‘pluricentric’ discipline with multiple aims (including Languages as skill development; the development of intercultural understanding; and the development of knowledge about language). We conclude with some proposals for consideration that embrace both evolution and revolution.
Woore et al. (Thu,) studied this question.