WP341 Around and beyond the DfE’s Curriculum & Assessment Review: Working across sectors for the future of language education

Animated by general agreement that language education in England is too narrow, this article introduces a multi-layered approach to policy development, and outlines six tenets guiding the recently formed Coalition for Language Education: ‘Recognise the richness of language in our lives’, ‘Accept linguistic diversity’; ‘Engage with social and cultural change’, ‘Respect the complexity of classrooms’, ‘Build partnerships’, and ‘Draw on universities’.  These precepts are backed by a great deal of research and practical experience, and they feed into at least three pressing tasks for our Coalition: specifying collective problems (see our joint CLIE & CLE digest of submissions to the DfE’s Curriculum & Assessment Review [CAR]); strengthening teacher education; and promoting richer models of language for education.  The opportunities for dialogue afforded by CAR are a very welcome addition to the policy landscape, and point to the need for a longer-term forum beyond the DfE for ongoing consultation with stakeholders. But there are also other important sites and forms of alliance – multilingual cities, third sector/university collaborations, teacher associations – and the Coalition’s six tenets are offered as broad orientation points for these and other policy actors, proposing an overall direction for the incremental changes they seek.