Research
RiPL has been leading the way with two large funded research projects examining language learning in the primary school.
DELTEA
The first, Digital Empowerment in Language Teaching (DELTEA), is a three-year project that has explored the impact of digital technology on the linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes of learners of French or Spanish in England and Scotland. It has also investigated the impact of digital professional development on language teachers’ sense of competence, autonomy and relatedness. You can read more here.
PiPL
The second, Progression in Primary Languages, is a four-year, longitudinal study working with primary schools across England to track children’s linguistic progression throughout Key Stage 2 (age 7 to 11). It is building a detailed picture of how children’s language knowledge develops and the factors that affect children’s language learning. You can read more here.
Presentations giving key findings from both projects can be viewed here.
Find out what research says about these important questions
- Can young language learners in schools make meaningful linguistic and non-linguistic progress?
- Can language learning help other aspects of learning?
- How important is language teacher linguistic proficiency and pedagogic expertise?
- How do language learners transition from primary to secondary school?
- How does FL learning support multilingual classrooms and intercultural awareness?
- Are there other models of teaching languages in schools?