ABSTRACT
Most MFL teachers at some moment in their career ask themselves the question ‘What is the point of teaching MFLs?’ Earlier chapters have already considered the academic and vocational value of MFL study. This chapter aims to encourage further reflection on the broad educational value of this subject and in particular the contribution which learning an MFL can make to the overall language development of the learner, not just in the specific language being taught but in the L1, the L2 and further FL learning, and the resulting influence on the learner’s broad perception of what language is. Such reflection cannot take place without considering the other language learning experiences which school students undergo, including experience of the mainstream English curriculum and its relation to the MFL curriculum. Nor should it be forgotten that large numbers of school students in Britain are already bilingual, some of them learning English as an additional language (EAL). In most school classrooms it would be common to find diverse experience of languages and language varieties other than Standard English contributing to the learners’ overall perception of language.
