The Provision of English as a Foreign Language during Transition from Primary to Secondary School in the Classrooms of Catalonia

Abstract

In the field of education, transition from primary to secondary school has been a matter of concern for many years because it is usually followed by a drop in student achievement and motivation. It has been claimed that this drop in attainment is more likely to be related to the nature and quality of primary and secondary schooling and to the organization of the transition process than to students’ ability. The focus of this research is on the provision of English as a foreign language during the transition from primary to secondary school in the context of Catalonia and aims at analyzing and discussing how first year English secondary teachers and first year secondary students experience transition. 28 EFL students were interviewed during their last year of primary education (2011/12) and two to three months after transfer to secondary school (2012/2013). The 28 EFL students’ primary English teachers and their secondary English teachers were also interviewed. It was found that there is insufficient contact between primary and secondary education in order to discuss and ensure curriculum continuity and build on pupils’ previous attainment. The teacher interviews also revealed the existence of very different teaching cultures in the two phases, going from a focus on oral skills and vocabulary in primary education to a focus on the explicit teaching of grammar and written accuracy in secondary education. The analysis of the student interviews also showed that pupils experience this change of teaching focus as too abrupt.