The background to the National Curriculum in Modern Languages and the challenge it poses to teachers in England
Estelle Davutoglu

Abstract
The school curriculum must be responsive to changes in society and the economy, and changes in the nature of schooling itself. Teachers, individually and collectively, have to reappraise their teaching in response to the changing needs of their pupils and the impact of economic, social and cultural change. Education only flourishes if it successfully adapts to the demands and needs of the time. The National Curriculum was revised under the Education Act 1996 to ensure that any necessary changes would promote stability in schools and enable them to focus on raising standards of pupil’s attainment. Most of the changes are designed to make teaching requirements clearer and to increase the flexibility available to schools to develop their curriculum in ways which best meet the needs of the pupils and local community. A stronger emphasis is laid on inclusion. The revised programmes of study have a new structure and design. The format is common to all subjects and sets out the knowledge, skills and understanding and the breadth of study requirements as two distinct parts.The concern in this essay is to examine the background to the National Curriculum in Modern Foreign Languages, and the challenge it poses to teachers. The first chapter begins with a brief description of the framework of the current National Curriculum. Then, it gives an insight of the structure and requirements of modern languages in the National Curriculum. The second chapter focuses on the issue of inclusion challenging teachers and schools alike.

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