Progression in Primary Languages and Transition to Secondary School: A longitudinal study of the route and rate of language learning from age 7 to 14
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF READING
Abstract
Since September 2014, England’s National Curriculum has required that every child (age 7 to 11) has the opportunity to make “substantial progress” in the learning of one (ancient or modern) foreign language at primary school (DfE, 2013). Given well-documented linguistic, cognitive, social, and cultural benefits, many primary schools have embraced this opportunity. Yet, over the past decade, schools’ capacity to deliver foreign language instruction has been inhibited by constraints on curriculum time, inconsistent staff language proficiency, limited teacher training and low confidence among non-language-specialist practitioners. Moreover, empirical data show wide variation in how and how much languages are taught, with many primaries offering less than 45 minutes per week or even ad-hoc sessions. These inconsistencies all contribute to wide variation in what learners achieve by the end of primary school, which in turn creates significant challenges when children transition from primary to secondary school (as highlighted in the Department for Education’s Curriculum & Assessment Review, 2025). Consequently, primary-secondary transition often lacks coherence, continuity and co-ordination: in many cases, Year 7 classes “start from scratch” with the same or a new language, regardless of what pupils studied previously. This lack of continuity erodes learners’ sense of progress and undermines motivation for long-term language study, which in turn contributes to England’s deepening languages deficit, with far-reaching consequences for social and cultural cohesion, employment opportunities, and economic competitiveness (Bowler, 2025).
To address these challenges, phase 1 of the Progression in Primary Languages (PiPL) project has generated critical insights into children’s language learning from age 7 to 11 at primary school and identified the individual, instructional and contextual factors which impact successful language learning in this context. Building on these findings, the renewal (phase 2) will explore the impact of primary/secondary school transition on children’s linguistic development, attitudes and motivation for long-term language study during the first three years of secondary school. A second core strand of work will focus on effective models of transition to promote cross-phase collaboration and continuity. Co-created with practitioner partners, this work will provide locally-relatable solutions, which are sensitive to context- and school-specific factors, and address the well-documented challenges for transition, which continue to undermine children’s language education experience (CAR, 2025; Collen & Duff, 2025).
Taken together, phases 1 and 2 of the PiPL project will generate a world-leading longitudinal dataset spanning the full seven years of compulsory language learning across primary and secondary school in England. The findings will transform understanding of the route and rate of linguistic development in low input instructed settings, such as those common to Anglophone countries where there is minimal/no exposure to the language being learnt outside of the classroom. The findings speak directly to recent government recommendations for curriculum reform (including the specification of minimum core content for primary languages teaching; CAR, 2025) and have the potential to dramatically change the way that primary and secondary schools work together to ensure continuity and progression throughout children’s language learning journey. In turn, this would increase motivation for long term language study, thereby decreasing the individual and societal cost of the existing languages deficit.
To address these challenges, phase 1 of the Progression in Primary Languages (PiPL) project has generated critical insights into children’s language learning from age 7 to 11 at primary school and identified the individual, instructional and contextual factors which impact successful language learning in this context. Building on these findings, the renewal (phase 2) will explore the impact of primary/secondary school transition on children’s linguistic development, attitudes and motivation for long-term language study during the first three years of secondary school. A second core strand of work will focus on effective models of transition to promote cross-phase collaboration and continuity. Co-created with practitioner partners, this work will provide locally-relatable solutions, which are sensitive to context- and school-specific factors, and address the well-documented challenges for transition, which continue to undermine children’s language education experience (CAR, 2025; Collen & Duff, 2025).
Taken together, phases 1 and 2 of the PiPL project will generate a world-leading longitudinal dataset spanning the full seven years of compulsory language learning across primary and secondary school in England. The findings will transform understanding of the route and rate of linguistic development in low input instructed settings, such as those common to Anglophone countries where there is minimal/no exposure to the language being learnt outside of the classroom. The findings speak directly to recent government recommendations for curriculum reform (including the specification of minimum core content for primary languages teaching; CAR, 2025) and have the potential to dramatically change the way that primary and secondary schools work together to ensure continuity and progression throughout children’s language learning journey. In turn, this would increase motivation for long term language study, thereby decreasing the individual and societal cost of the existing languages deficit.