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Foreign languages
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Does anyone else not think that it absurd that a foreign language is usually optional at GCSE? Although, I don’t even think a compulsory foreign language at GCSE goes far enough. I took a GCSE in French and despite ‘passing’ my French is very poor and I only started learning the language at 12. Given that Belgian and Swiss kids speak a couple of languages by the age of 12 we really need to start much earlier. Learning a language is a lot easier when you’re really young, when kids start learning English they should be learning at least one other European language...
I’m partly just bitter as I’m trying to learn German from scratch but I think the priorities with regard to languages are a bit messed up. For all the useless intrusions the EU has made surely the EU Parliament could make a useful infringement and stipulate that every child in state education learn another European language.
I’m partly just bitter as I’m trying to learn German from scratch but I think the priorities with regard to languages are a bit messed up. For all the useless intrusions the EU has made surely the EU Parliament could make a useful infringement and stipulate that every child in state education learn another European language.
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Perhaps if we didnt spend virtually all the time in schools just getting the kids ready for another pointless exam we could actually teach them things.
Its basically supposed to be about critical thinking and evaluation. Though how on earth you can teach citizenship without reference to history I dont know.
"What youngsters have to study is in three "strands":
Knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens - such as legal and human rights and responsibilities, the work of Parliament and courts and how the economy functions
Developing skills of enquiry and communication - for example, researching a topical issue and analysing sources of information
Developing skills of participation and responsible action - which includes using their imaginations to consider other people's experiences
Ofsted notes that the basic knowledge appears similar to the citizenship taught in many schools a century ago. - BBC"
Yes, foreign languages should be compulsory. And the earlier they are taught, and the longer they are taught for, the better.
Well even the European Court of Human Rights has proved useful through it reversing the backward ban on gays in the military so if the EU can occasionally do something useful why not? Most of what the EU does is pointless bureaucracy, if it forced British kids to learn another European language young that would be very good for Britain and good for the EU. And it's something our government seems incapable of doing. Meh. Maybe Cameron will do something.
By happy coincidence many of those people who moved to Spain and live in 'colonies' (complete with British-branded food supermarkets, lest anyone gets food poisoning from eating all that dago food) are the type who say they left Britain because they didn't like what it was becoming, what with multiculturalism and all those immigrants not even learning English about.
I've seen people who have been living there for years and they couldn't even be arsed to ask for their bus fare in Spanish.
I have fantasies about moving to Spain. I love Catalunya and Barcelona especially. I need to learn Spanish though (or Catalan!). I'm planning to do a course in January.
When they were compulsory it meant that everyone had to take a language, which was ridiculous in the case of those less academically talented student who had enough problems with English. I appreciate this is a tiny part of the majority but it was a good thing for them that foreign languages stopped being compulsory.
HOWEVER, for the vast majority it is perfectly achieveable to learn a foriegn language and the schools should take it upon themselves to make them compulsory for most people.
Our local comprehensive insists students take a technology subject, but leaves languages as optional. :banghead:
You could always study Catalan and learn Spanish 'on the street' at the same time.
Spanish is pretty easy. Catalan not so, totally different dialect.
I think the fact that we can go to European countries and speak English pretty easily means we don't have an incentive to learn other languages whereas Europeans do.
I wish I knew how to speak another language. I have considered going back to college for it.
:yes:
I didn't take a foreign language at GCSE, but then again if I tokk Spanish I would've had to of taken French.:rolleyes:
My secondary school was a language college, and you could learn almost every european language and mandarin by the time I left (within two years of the award) and I imagine that they've added russian and japanese by now.
Though, I always liked french
We didn't have the option of doing Citizenship at GCSE - we studied it in year 9 and that was it.
Fiend - apparantely the reason for us having to take French if we wanted to do Spanish because it meant in the past that we'd do better or some random crap like that - despite the fact that I always struggled with French and when studying both languages, got words mixed up.
If it's left as an option kids will just avoid it as it seems a bit useless at that age... I bet in a few years they'd be really glad to know another language though.
Muse - I'm not convinced that kids just won't do it, get them early enough and languages just seem normal, or even fun. You may be right if they started at secondary level, but I think languages should be part of primary education, it's easier when you're young.
Same here, I scrapped a grade C at GCSE French. My dad remarried to a french lady (the lovely Nanette) a couple of years ago and whilst in France with my dad and Nanettte over the summer it was so frustrating not being able to communicate! "I live in a house with a big garden" only gets you so far.
Were such a lazy nation when it comes to languages.