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Should all school pupils be made to learn at least one foreign language?
Results so far:
| No | 35% | 776 votes | Total: 2222 votes | |
| Yes | 65% | 1446 votes |
No
by Linda Sunkle-Pierucki
Created on: February 27, 2008
It's difficult to support the theory all children should learn a foreign language when most appear to be so woefully inadequate in their native tongue.
All learning builds upon previous learning: the lack of emphasis on teaching proper English to American schoolchildren has engendered a nation of illiterate college graduates. I'm not sure how it got to this point, but today's children never learn the finer nuances of grammar, punctuation or sentence construction in their own language.
Consider the effects of language on the developing brain. It has been proven that exposure to language and extended vocabulary helps the young child's brain to develop more effective and numerous neuro-connections . For many years, IQ tests have proven that children exposed to rich language experiences become smarter and keep those gains throughout life. Language represents ideas and children exposed to language develop rich mental imagery to accompany those words. Images and ideas build upon each other and help develop curiosity and problem-solving skills.Children with mastery of their native language build upon early learning more effectively.
Language and good communication skills are the deciding civilizing factor of our society. When words don't work in a situation of conflict, children are more likely to resort to action-inappropriately in many cases. Providing children with the tools for mastery in the English language, then, helps them to become better citizens.
A major part of language learning involves understanding the function of words in the sentence. It also relies upon the ability to recognize words through proper spelling and how proper punctuation makes the sentence as easily understood as spoken language. Before a child can readily absorb the finer points of a foreign language, then, he must understand and communicate effectively in his own. Once the child has developed mastery over a large enough vocabulary and can communicate well both verbally and in writing, there is ample time to begin foreign language studies.
Success in learning a foreign language is dependent upon the child's success in learning his own language well. All of the romance languages- Spanish, French, etc build upon Latin-based words. A child with English mastery can see these relationships and can parse out portions of written passages very early in his studies, providing reinforcement through success. Once he sees these similarities and their related meanings, he can then begin to learn how their placement in the sentence fits'. At this point, the child may actually gain a more full meaning of the word in his own language.
Learning the sentence structure, verb tenses and gender differences of foreign words is the most difficult part of learning a foreign language. This is especially difficult if the child has not clearly absorbed the sentence structure, verb tense and placement of English words as he may well get the two confused.
Actually learning a foreign language does not mean learning a few key phrases. Learning the language involves being able to read and write the language effectively. Too often, early language studies leave the child with the mistaken assumption he' knows' another language when in actuality he would not even recognize the words were they written.
This is the problem employers are seeing in their newly hired high school and college graduates: they think' they know how to write and communicate effectively in English, but are actually clueless in the business situation. They face the same problem with people who state they speak a foreign language-they cannot communicate effectively. If we are ever to compete in a global business climate, it is vital that future employees communicate easily and effectively in their own language first.
So, foreign language instruction has a place in education, but that must take place only after children have been instructed in and gained mastery over their own language first. When public education takes the teaching of English seriously once again, and children are thus given the chance to develop their mental abilities to their fullest potential through complete and effective English instruction, foreign language instruction would be a welcome addition and can be most rewarding.
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Yes
by Emily Jiggins
Created on: December 15, 2010
As a Modern Foreign Languages Teacher, I am confronted, on a daily basis, with groups of thirty + year 9 pupils, who, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that they are not going to work during my lesson because, and I quote, “I don’t have to do this stuff next year anyway”. As a now optional subject, languages fall victim to the attitudes of, dare I say it, xenophobic relatives and sometimes pushy parents, whose own lack of understanding resonates down to their children, who, at the grand old age of fourteen, have categorically decided that there is no use whatsoever in learning languages as, of course, “everybody in the world speaks English, Miss”.
So why, then, should we be encouraging our children to continue with second language acquisition? Why should languages be a core subject, rather than optional? Well, there are of course, numerous reasons, mainly appertaining to the fact that, without advanced linguistic capability, our children are shooting themselves out of the International business market. That is to say, our children painfully lag behind the rest of Europe in terms of linguistic competence and cultural understanding. How many globalised businesses are willing to accept students without the basic skills covered from learning a language?
Admittedly, most school-subjects can today offer a plethora of skills and knowledge base, however, the acquisition of a second language lends itself to the adoption of skills such as: Communication, independent thought, taking responsibility for one’s own development, presentation giving, overcoming language barriers, global citizenship and cultural awareness. A range of skills often deemed as minimum entry requirements for most International Businesses. Most importantly, however, Second Language acquisition can inject confidence in our children, encouraging them to voice their opinions, helping them develop global understanding, and ultimately, opening their eyes to the world around them.
Most objections to obligatory Second Language learning cite the difficulty of the subject, the expectation of grades and the ability to speak the world’s “lingua franca” as reasons for the subject to remain optional. However, in the U.K, National Curriculum level descriptors have lower expectations than in other subjects, essentially making it easier to achieve say, a level 5 in French than in English or Maths, and, although a challenging subject, grade expectations are no higher than those of other subjects. Finally, although indeed, we are fortunate enough to speak the world’s “lingua franca”, this position is beginning to be challenged, and taken over, arguably, with Mandarin. This, of course, begs the question- how will our children learn a new lingua franca that is not English?
It must be added, of course, that such reasons are certainly not exhaustive, and, until Modern Foreign Language within the Secondary School receives the modernisation it so desperately needs, we cannot, as Teachers, expect students to be enthused by an out-dated curriculum. What use do students see in learning how to ask for a pitch in the local campsite? However, school’s are unable to offer an enriched programme of Language study, as most time and energy is taken up ‘selling’ the subject to teenagers, who, quite frankly, don’t want to be at school, let alone learning Languages.
The answer? Let’s equip our children with the life skills they need in today’s globalised society. This, however unfortunate it may seem to be, includes the knowledge of other languages. Therefore, making Languages an obligatory subject would provide our children with the competences they need to compete in the International market, and would, perhaps, afford Teachers more time to concentrate on the modernisation of Foreign Language Teaching. This could further lead to the eventual abolishment of the incorrect, and, dare I say it, downright rude assumption that “everyone speaks English- so why should I bother?”.
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