So, too, do traditional perceptions of deafness as a medical problem. Here we see girls attending a Qu'ranic class finishing their prayers. Overseas governments have also taken a lead and the teaching of Spanish, Italian and Greek, for instance, is supported in varying degrees by the High Commission or Embassy in London. Following the publication of the Swann Report in 1985, the main responsibility for community language teaching was placed with ethnic minority communities themselves. External support comes mainly in the form of free accommodation for classes in LEA schools, though some charitable foundations also offer limited financial support.
Most teachers are volunteers rather than paid.
One of the general objectives for education of the 1995 EU white paper on Teaching and learning is to develop proficiency in three Community languages. Plurilingualism is also one of the policy objectives of the Council of Europe. There has been intermittent pressure on government to teach a wider range of languages in response to the challenge of global markets. Official policy has been rather contradictory.