The World of Languages and Languages of the World (WoLLoW): a pupils’ voice study on primary languages and multilingualism

Whilst the intention behind compulsory Primary Languages in England is laudable, the reality of the challenges faced by the Modern Foreign Language (MFL) community in terms of staffing and organisation of primary languages and transition to secondary means that 10 years on, the policy is still struggling to translate into consistent practice. WoLLoW, a fully resourced and freely available curriculum for KS2 and KS3 was born out of the need to find a solution for these challenges at grassroot level. The programme is designed with primary school teachers in mind, and its dialogic and exploratory approach to teaching and learning empowers non-specialists to support language learning with expertise and confidence, to inspire a love of languages in pupils and support their future language learning. This study explored pupils’ responses to the programme through focus groups, with three year 5 classes in two separate schools. It was found that such programme has the potential to foster self-motivation regarding language learning, by fulfilling the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Furthermore, pupils were provided with a unique space for positive and empowering discussions around multilingualism, which could potentially enhance the language learning provision at primary and the transition to secondary.