Language Problem

Last week it was revealed that a primary school was using the sign language Makaton to help foreign pupils communicate with staff and one another. The 300-plus children at Fairlight primary school in Brighton speak 26 languages between them, and the head teacher, Damien Jordan, left, introduced Makaton to cut across language barriers and help pupils’ linguistic development. “We’re trying to show that talking is not just about speaking,” said Jordan. “It means that at times when children might get frustrated that they can’t make themselves understood, you can still communicate with them.” All 55 members of staff are learning the basics of the sign language at the same time as the pupils.

What Is Makaton?

Makaton was developed by Margaret Walker, a London speech therapist, in the 1970s as a means of helping patients who were deaf or had language or learning difficulties. It is almost identical to traditional sign language – for example, a book is signified by opening one’s palms – but rather than using signs to denote whole sentences, each word of a sentence is signed in the order it would be spoken. Where possible, speakers also mouth or even enunciate the words they are signing, which helps users move towards full speech. There is a core vocabulary of 450 words, but experts can express more than 7,000 concepts using gestures. It also has a series of symbols, mostly simple pictures featuring stick figures.

Where Is It Used?

In recent years Makaton has increasingly been used to help those who don’t speak English, with signs being placed in hospitals, courts and libraries to direct visitors to different departments. The BBC has a character in its children’s programme Something Special called Mr Tumble, left, who communicates in Makaton. It is starting to be used as a tool in education, and not just for foreign pupils. “We would be doing it even if all our pupils spoke English,” said Jordan. “It works educationally – it is a multi-sensory approach to learning – and it has created a sense of community in the school.” A key factor, however, is that Makaton allows teachers to communicate with pupils with different standards of English.

Bigger Issue

In England, one in seven primary school pupils speaks English as a second language, with more than 50 languages spoken in some schools. Experts worry about the effects on the education of all pupils at such schools. “There is international evidence that immigration has a big impact on a country’s performance in education where the new arrivals don’t speak the language,” said Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University. He has even witnessed a pupil acting as a translator for a teacher trying to explain the difference between weight and mass. In such circumstances, behavioural problems are also more difficult for a teacher to sort out.

Explore Education

• Schools

• GCSE & A Level Results

• Good University Guide

• Sunday Times University Guide

• Student

• Young Times

Times recommends

• Student’s diary exposes Cambridge University
• Google generation has no need for rote learning
• Left-handers do 'less well' in exams