Sep
7
Written by:
costcutters
07/09/2011 12:52
Monoglot – noun – a person with a knowledge of only one language.
The UK is widely regarded as one of the most mono-linguistic in Europe. When we go abroad a large percentage of Brits have zero alternative language skills with which to approach any kind of situation, even one as simple as an introduction.
Some might say this is just because most other countries in Europe have populations that are largely bilingual already, with their second language often being English, which reduces the perceived need for us to learn another language.
This is a poor excuse though as this trend merely reflects the fact that most other countries have a more advanced and forward thinking approach to teaching languages. After all, Mandarin is already more widely spoken globally and Spanish is not far behind, which means English speakers won’t be able to rely on the skills of others forever. Something needs to be done to ensure UK students have a future as working adults on the European and international stage.
This is not our fault though. The problem lies with our current national teaching strategies.
Curriculum in Crisis
In Scotland for instance, three quarters of primary schools are missing targets for delivering modern languages. Missing out on starting a child’s language development at this stage is disastrous for the numbers of pupils taking up the subject at secondary school. Especially since modern languages were dropped as a compulsory subject at standard grade, which has indeed lead many to consider modern languages to be an ‘add-on’ subject which is largely irrelevant.
It is important that languages be taught as early as possible because while primary kids often feel less self-conscious during the early stages of learning a language and can use this time to get their heads round the basics, secondary school pupils without this previous knowledge are put off trying to start a language when they are more aware of their limitations and the difficult nature of picking up a language. Basically, if they start learning a language in primary school and use educational preschool toys to assist, they will find it much easier and more rewarding to take it a step further in secondary school.
Luckily for Scotland, the Scottish Government has set up a working group on the teaching of languages in schools, which should help to stem the declining tide of languages. Additional linguistic classroom resources becoming more widely available should also assist this.
That’s not the only issue though…we still need teachers to teach the languages.
Not Enough Teachers
A recent study by Buckingham University found that language subjects are struggling to find enough trainees and even less trainees willing to become language teachers.
The report found that of the 39,103 teacher trainees who qualified in summer 2010, only 71.5% actually went on to become teachers. While some of this percentage will have decided to take a year out, the concern is that too many teachers are being lost through a lack of direction towards employment throughout their training. The report also found that trainees who took a practical route to their qualification were much more likely to go on to become a teacher, which points to the need to add more practical elements to all teacher training programs.
Teach First is an example of a successful way to help carry trainee teachers into full teacher employment. They have helped many trainees take the step up to teaching, even in challenging situations and have even been endorsed by Prime Minister David Cameron.
At the end of the day, the state of modern language teaching in the UK is currently poor on several levels, even struggling to meet the European Council’s Barcelona Agreement standard of teaching two foreign languages at an early age. But our children are not doomed: hopefully with the influence of the Scottish Government and organisations like Teach First, the tide will begin to turn.
How many languages do you speak?
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