Letter: Problem for languages

1:13pm Friday 15th June 2012 in Opinion

The idea of teaching a foreign language from the age of seven is a good one.

But first there is the problem that most primary teachers are not language specialists and teaching a foreign language requires special training as it is a specific skill.

It also requires a working knowledge of the language to be taught.

And many primary teachers either didn't study a foreign language at school or did so only to GCSE level which could have been years ago.

Then there is the problem of which language the child learns and whether that language will be available at his/her secondary school.

In other European countries the choice is usually English, German or French which the children begin to learn at nine or ten and take through into their secondary years.

Noiticer (via website)

Comments (6)

9:26am Sat 16 Jun 12

Excluded again says...

I was on holiday in North Wales last week. I went to the local swimming baths with my kids. As we went in, out came a class of 7 or 8 year olds with theri teachers. They were all chatting excitedly in Welsh. I had to ask which way to the lockers and the cjhildren were able to answer in perfect English.

If Welsh children can easily speak two languages at 7 or 8, why can't English children. It's not like we are two different species.
I was on holiday in North Wales last week. I went to the local swimming baths with my kids. As we went in, out came a class of 7 or 8 year olds with theri teachers. They were all chatting excitedly in Welsh. I had to ask which way to the lockers and the cjhildren were able to answer in perfect English. If Welsh children can easily speak two languages at 7 or 8, why can't English children. It's not like we are two different species. Excluded again

9:41am Sat 16 Jun 12

Bill Chapman says...

Which language(s) should we be teaching our children. Learn Spanish and you’re at a loss In Germany, learn French and you’re illiterate in Russia, learn Chinese and you can’t ask for an ice cream in Portugal. So which language should we be teaching? I would respectfully suggest that we take another look at Esperanto, a relatively new language which is easy to learn and use.
Which language(s) should we be teaching our children. Learn Spanish and you’re at a loss In Germany, learn French and you’re illiterate in Russia, learn Chinese and you can’t ask for an ice cream in Portugal. So which language should we be teaching? I would respectfully suggest that we take another look at Esperanto, a relatively new language which is easy to learn and use. Bill Chapman

12:26pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Brian Barker says...

In reply to Bill Chapman Esperanto does need to be taught in British schools. If they are doing it in Australia, why can't they do it here ?

See http://mediasiteex.u
sc.edu.au/mediasite/
SilverlightPlayer/De
fault.aspx?peid=bf5e
10c2503849deb1ce2e64
e8ab03ab1d

Their new online course http://www.lernu.net has 125 000 hits per day and Esperanto Wikipedia enjoys 400 000 hits per day. That can't be bad :)
In reply to Bill Chapman Esperanto does need to be taught in British schools. If they are doing it in Australia, why can't they do it here ? See http://mediasiteex.u sc.edu.au/mediasite/ SilverlightPlayer/De fault.aspx?peid=bf5e 10c2503849deb1ce2e64 e8ab03ab1d Their new online course http://www.lernu.net has 125 000 hits per day and Esperanto Wikipedia enjoys 400 000 hits per day. That can't be bad :) Brian Barker

7:21pm Wed 20 Jun 12

davidinburnley says...

Most kids in Europe start to learn English at a much younger ager than 'nine or ten'. In fact, make are proficient in English by that age.
Of course it's a good idea for us to teach our own children a language other than English from an early age. Esperanto would be about as much use as Latin - as no one speaks it.
I would suggest German (a top business language), Dutch (so close to English it's a really good introduction to foreign languages) and forget French. I learned French at school and have never used it since. The other languages I mentioned I've learned since and use frequently (except, of course, Esperanto which I've looked at but is pretty much unitelligible to me as it's such an unnatural mix of other Germanic and Romance languages.)
Most kids in Europe start to learn English at a much younger ager than 'nine or ten'. In fact, make are proficient in English by that age. Of course it's a good idea for us to teach our own children a language other than English from an early age. Esperanto would be about as much use as Latin - as no one speaks it. I would suggest German (a top business language), Dutch (so close to English it's a really good introduction to foreign languages) and forget French. I learned French at school and have never used it since. The other languages I mentioned I've learned since and use frequently (except, of course, Esperanto which I've looked at but is pretty much unitelligible to me as it's such an unnatural mix of other Germanic and Romance languages.) davidinburnley

10:17pm Wed 20 Jun 12

tombhoy says...

Whilst I am all for teaching our children foreign languages, I really must question Bill Chapman's suggestion of Esperanto. He fails to mention where this language is spoken (is it spoken anywhere?). Spanish and French are widely spoken, so it would make sense to teach these languages. Davidinburnley makes a good point about using or losing any language skills learned
Whilst I am all for teaching our children foreign languages, I really must question Bill Chapman's suggestion of Esperanto. He fails to mention where this language is spoken (is it spoken anywhere?). Spanish and French are widely spoken, so it would make sense to teach these languages. Davidinburnley makes a good point about using or losing any language skills learned tombhoy

10:23pm Wed 20 Jun 12

Brian Barker says...

More prejudice against Esperanto again by describing it at "unnatural".

Many ill-informed people describe Esperanto as "failed" - other ignorant people say that if human beings were meant to fly, God would have given them wings.

Esperanto is neither artificial nor a failure however. As the British Government now employs Esperanto translators it has ceased to be a hobby. More recently this international language was used to address the United Nations in Bonn.

During a short period of 125 years Esperanto is now in the top 100 languages, out of 6,800 worldwide. It is the 22nd most used language in Wikipedia, ahead of Danish and Arabic. It is a language choice of Google, Skype, Firefox, Ubuntu and Facebook.

Native Esperanto speakers, (people who have used the language from birth), include World Chess Champion Susan Polger, Ulrich Brandenberg the new German Ambassador to and Nobel Laureate Daniel Bovet. Financier George Soros learnt Esperanto as a child.
More prejudice against Esperanto again by describing it at "unnatural". Many ill-informed people describe Esperanto as "failed" - other ignorant people say that if human beings were meant to fly, God would have given them wings. Esperanto is neither artificial nor a failure however. As the British Government now employs Esperanto translators it has ceased to be a hobby. More recently this international language was used to address the United Nations in Bonn. During a short period of 125 years Esperanto is now in the top 100 languages, out of 6,800 worldwide. It is the 22nd most used language in Wikipedia, ahead of Danish and Arabic. It is a language choice of Google, Skype, Firefox, Ubuntu and Facebook. Native Esperanto speakers, (people who have used the language from birth), include World Chess Champion Susan Polger, Ulrich Brandenberg the new German Ambassador to and Nobel Laureate Daniel Bovet. Financier George Soros learnt Esperanto as a child. Brian Barker

Comments are closed on this article.

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