Resumen de The swann report: Education for all?

National Council for Mother Tongue Teaching

• In this paper, the National Council for Mother Tongue Teaching presents its response to the Swann Report, with particular reference to the Report's discussion of the role of ethnic minority languages in Britain. The Report is seen to be internally inconsistent, in that its arguments frequently do not support the pluralist position set out in its early chapters. Specifically, references to the importance of a positive approach to our ‘linguistically and culturally diverse society’ are not reflected in the recommendations of the Report as a whole, which fails to recognise the total linguistic repertoire of bilingual pupils, and completely dismisses bilingual approaches in education. This paper also questions Swann's attitude to the balance of research findings and to its heavy emphasis on the learning of English. These internal contradictions lead to the conclusion that, far from being forward‐looking, the thinking of the Report is far behind that of current research and educational trends.