Language learning in Britain today
Friday, 26th June 2009
For too long has language learning been a chore for school children; and for that matter, the British Public generally.
Children seem unenthusiastic; dragged into early morning French lessons to order ice creams and occasionally greet relatives that don’t exist. Languages are too often advertised as unexciting. I disagree. As a newly graduated GCSE student, I’m fully committed to conquering the languages of the world. And I want to convince everyone else it’s a good idea too. Whether you need to order dinner in Spain or sell your product to an international market, a language could be the difference between sale and fail.
At the age of 9, I fell in love with my afterschool Spanish club (yes, I had unusual hobbies). I think from that day I was determined to conquer the world, via the medium of language. This, I reckon, was largely due to my love of Enid Blyton adventures, but I soon realised it would be a mighty fine idea to learn a language. And now I’ve conquered 2...well, almost. Spanish: Spain and South America has the great advantage of good weather, and German: the biggest business language (and frankly Swiss chocolate is too good to miss). Italian is a language I’m battling through, with the help of a bi-lingual dictionary and a textbook (yes, you guessed it; my love of Pizza and Pasta overruled the option of any other language).
There’s a definite feeling though, even in a school community that some people just aren’t “Language People”. I have to disagree; you already speak English. That’s a language. You’ve got very few excuses. And if your excuse is time: languages constantly surround you, you don’t have to immerse yourself in the culture to learn a few key expressions, and a phrase a day will build confidence and experience. I’d reckon that anyone committed to it could master a simple grasp of a language in a year - even if all you can do is ask for the bill.
People really appreciate your attempt, (trust me, even if your accent is appalling and your grammar completely incorrect) and they’ll make an effort to help you learn more. It’s an instant satisfaction of making at least one person laugh...at or with you.
And it’s definitely an advantage to start young, but if you think I’ll let you get away with the age excuse you can think again! It’s not that you’ve got more chance of conquering the language at a younger age, you’ve just got more commitment. Schools should promote languages as a positive lesson; as far as I can see ordering ice cream sounds a lot more fun than simultaneous equations.
The numbers of undergraduates choosing to study Modern Languages is declining, (which, technically, is another advantage: a smaller pool means less competition). So with a modern language your CV is boosted, and the number of jobs open to you increase three-fold. Plus, when the British Weather gets a little bit too gloomy for your liking, a whole new world of opportunities is open to you abroad.
So, what are you still doing reading this? You should be researching the Cactus website, or at the very least ordering a CD from the internet. Jump in. It’s just a small sea to cross to capture the oceans of the wide world.
More information on language courses abroad
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More information on tailor-made language training
Tags: juniors, children, language learning, language, languages, learning, german, french, spanish
Posted by Madeleine 2009-06 under Attitudes to Language Learning,
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Posted by mary mitchell on 07/07 at 08:15 AM
This is an amazingly mature piece of writing. It is fabulous to see a young person taking such an interest in current education issues. I certainly agree with the arguments posed, and I would like to witness a sea-change in young people's attitude to learning foreign languages. Keep writing Maddy!
Posted by moby dick on 07/08 at 12:56 PM
Preetttyy good moby :)
I may even just reach over and pick up my french dictionary and a croissant right this minute.
:) seriously well done though.. although I see "Mary Mitchell" beat me to it on first comment :P
xxxx