§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice is given to local education authorities on the teaching of mother-tongue languages.
§ Dr. BoysonDES circular 5/81 reminded local education authorities that member States of the European Community have accepted an obligation to promote mother-tongue and culture teaching in accordance with national circumstances and legal systems, and in co-operation with States of origin. This does not imply that a right to such tuition is conferred on all children whose first language is not English, but rather that local education authorities should explore ways in which provision might be made for them, as appropriate. In their general advice to local education authorities, Her Majesty's Inspectors draw attention to the particular educational needs of those children and are ready to discuss possible responses which may include the use of mother-tongue languages in the classroom.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research projects he has sponsored into the teaching of mother-tongue languages; and if he will make an assessment of the importance of such teaching as part of multi-ethnic education.
§ Dr. BoysonOver the last five years, the Department has sponsored three projects relevant to the teaching of mother-tongue languages in England. One study looked at the effect of a bilingual education programme on 5-year-old Punjabi-speaking children in Bradford, another made an intensive sample survey of linguistic diversity in secondary schools in parts of London, and a third is currently looking at linguistic diversity and mother-tongue provision in various parts of the country. We want to know more about the implications of mother-tongue teaching for the general educational development of the children concerned, and shall be interested to hear the views on this subject of the committee of inquiry into the education of children from ethnic minority groups.