Cyril Haearn wrote:The EU wants people to be trilingual, fluent in two foreign languages, +1
Is that realistic? Does a standard brain have room for three languages?
I've always understood that the Dutch generally speak up to six languages. Or is that another untruth?
This is one of many things that the EU gather statistics on. According to the last report (2012) 77% of people in the Netherlands speak 2 or more languages in addition to their mother tongue, and 37% speak at least 3. English, German, and French are the most common. Although the Dutch seem to learn languages at higher rates than other European countries, it seems an exaggeration to say that they generally speak up to six languages.
In UK schools foreign languages are in massive decline. The schools just can't get the kids interested in taking a foreign language to GCSE or above. And as the numbers opting to take the languages decline, so does the numbers employed to teach them. Which means fewer jobs for those who study languages at uni.
pwa wrote:In UK schools foreign languages are in massive decline. The schools just can't get the kids interested in taking a foreign language to GCSE or above. And as the numbers opting to take the languages decline, so does the numbers employed to teach them. Which means fewer jobs for those who study languages at uni.
Except in Wales (not a foreign language mind) What can they get the children interested in?
Minus One, a downward spiral, has to do with This Madness too
I did French at school, German later, others did Russian, Latin, Chinese, +5
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120 Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
pwa wrote:In UK schools foreign languages are in massive decline. The schools just can't get the kids interested in taking a foreign language to GCSE or above. And as the numbers opting to take the languages decline, so does the numbers employed to teach them. Which means fewer jobs for those who study languages at uni.
Except in Wales (not a foreign language mind) What can they get the children interested in?
Minus One, a downward spiral, has to do with This Madness too
I did French at school, German later, others did Russian, Latin, Chinese, +5
The study of foreign languages in Welsh schools has been in steep decline for twenty years. We have reached a point where secondary schools are looking at whether they can continue to offer the option of A Level foreign languages with only one or two pupils opting for that each year. Even GCSE is under threat. This was going on long before the UK leaving the EU was seen as a serious possibility, so it has nothing to do with that.
One particular problem in Wales is that kids who are doing both English and Welsh at GCSE are reluctant to have yet another language as an option that would restrict the breadth of their overall options list.
Learning foreign languages is on the increase in Ireland. They have a government funded scheme to exchange teachers with other countries in order to speak & teach other languages. Because education is already in Irish and English, German, French, or Spanish become a third language to those who study them.
Many other European countries have such schemes, and most require languages as part of education from an early age. My children are taught in two languages at school, and introduced to others. In some parts of Norway, Sami and/or Kven are included in education from early years. Schools across the northern bits of Norway, Sweden, and Finland (I imigine it is the same in the neighboring bits of Russia) have to cope with between 3 and 5 mother tongues, and provide instruction in most, if not all of them.
Similarly in South America, Asia, and Africa , there are many local or indigenous languages, in addition to the main business language(s).
p.s. foreign languages used to be required on GCSEs, but that ended in 2004. That contributes hugely to the decline.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
what English is the male commentator speaking here in this British Transport Film? Dont seem to hear it these days? Is the species now extinct? I would assume the home counties, but which part? "Rugby, who wants to go to Rugby?" [youtube]QPkT0paGEnQ[/youtube]
I once asked a young lad from Drongan, Ayrshire (Drungun, Ershur) if he could name The Beatles. It was around the time that Jenson Button, the racing driver, had been asked to name The Beatles and he couldn't (to be fair he was just young at the time, and The Beatles had only been 'current' before he was born)...
"Dae ah ken The Beatles? Aw aye, ah ken The Beatles, aye... Wan o' rum's cried Paul, an' 'e yissed tae be mairiet tae a Welsh burd wi' wan an' a hawf legs... Twae o' rum's deid... An' ah 'hink th' ither yin yissed tae be Thomas the Tank Engine."
Hi, English might not be the most spoken worldly but it is regarded as most useful IIRC. Probably because its the most comprehensive language I think, please correct me on that.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi, English might not be the most spoken worldly but it is regarded as most useful IIRC. Probably because its the most comprehensive language I think, please correct me on that.
Most comprehensive? No-one knows, there are so many diverse languages, no-one could know them all Could have been quite different if the US had adopted German or Welsh or Spanish
Just heard Lisa Stansfield on the radio, she has a lovely Lancashire accent, +1
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120 Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
(not a foreign language mind)
