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

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