Written question asked by Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hill of Oareford (Conservative) on Tuesday, 18 October 2011.

Education: Languages

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the way in which the educational benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism can be promoted by a greater recognition within the educational system of languages, other than English, which are learned in the home.

Answer: We have made no specific assessment of this issue. However, we are aware of research that has shown that bilingual individuals have an advantage in skills relating to problem solving, critical thinking, processing of information and other areas. We are also aware of evidence of the success of bilingual teaching in countries such as Spain and Singapore. We will take this into account as we develop our policy on languages teaching in schools.

Secondary information