Hundreds of teaching jobs for native English speakers could be created in France as part of a scheme to boost language learning in primary schools.

The French Education Minister, Jack Lang, wants to introduce all six-year-olds to a foreign language by 2005.

Teaching unions say that to fulfil this goal, 13,000 new jobs would need to be filled.

The government has refused to single out English as the chief language to be taught under the scheme.

But commentators say that because of strong demand from parents, it looks set to be the first choice, with a second language being taught to pupils from the age of 11.

Currently, 40% of seven-year-olds and 75% of 10-year-olds in French state schools learn a foreign language - mainly English.

But education officials admit the system is patchy, and many pupils arrive in secondary school with little real knowledge of another language.

'Bad habits'

The new scheme is due to start in September with compulsory language classes for 10-year-olds. It will then be extended year by year through primary schools.

The government has not yet revealed how it plans to organise or finance its reform of language teaching.

But education officials and parents' groups have said that it is to succeed, it must avoid the traditional methods that have held back language-learning in France, and expose children as early as possible to the spoken word.

Georges Dupon-Lahitte, president of the FCPE, the main parents' association, said: "What we must avoid is transferring the bad habits that exist higher up the system to the primary schools.

"Traditionally in France languages are taught as a way into the culture, not as a means of communication.

"Children are taught to write before they can speak it, which is illogical. We have to change that."

Exchange students

Government officials said the extra demand for teachers created by the scheme would partly be filled by re-allocating language teachers from secondary schools who were not working their full complement of hours.

But these teachers are mainly of less popular languages such as Russian and German.

It is therefore likely there will be intense pressure to recruit native English-speakers, such as exchange students, to work as educational assistants.

However commentators say this in turn could lead to problems, due to the opposition of teachers' unions to job creation outside the professional teaching structure, and the poor level of salaries on offer.