British Perspectives on Transition between Primary and Secondary Schools and Implications for ELT Policy

There is no doubt that transition from one level of schooling to another will always present problem to be solved since this is in the nature of any marked change in human life. This study aims to review the research on transition between primary and secondary schools in the U.K. and address implications for foreign language education including English language teaching in Korea, where attention has recently been given to the issue. The review of studies on transition in early language learning in the U.K. suggests that policies to enhance administrative, curricular, and staff liaison efforts could often serve to bring about improvements in children's transition experiences. Furthermore, putting more focus on policies to equip the children themselves with strategies to cope resiliently with change and to figure out the values of a new teaching culture seems to have had positive results. It may be an approach worth trying in the given context, while at the same time not neglecting the efforts to maintain information flow and collegial cooperation among the adult stake-holders at the two levels of schooling.