ABSTRACT
The pros and cons of teaching in the target language have been debated in secondary schools for many years, but since 1990 the introduction of the National Curriculum has concentrated the minds of language teachers and examiners alike. In Modern Foreign Languages in the National Curriculum (Department of Education and Science, 1991) the expectation was laid out in print for the first time that language teachers would conduct all, or nearly all, of their lessons in the target language-and 16 year olds are soon to tackle GCSE examinations with all rubrics and instructions in the target language. But the whole issue of teaching in the target language has turned out to be far more complex than anyone anticipated in 1990 and even the most experienced linguists need help in devising strategies to sustain pupil motivation and ensure that pupils use the language regularly in class.
