When I was at school the only languages taught were French and German. The empire mentality (i.e. everybody should speak English) still reigned strong, and no importance was given to learning a new language. Language lessons at school were more catered to holidaying in France or Germany, rather than towards having meaningful conversations. Most students didn't bother in the lessons because they thought "When will I ever need to speak with the French or the Germans? (most of them speak English
anyway)"
Being half Spanish, and having been taught to speak both English and Spanish from an early age, this used to puzzle me. While my cousins in Spain were already speaking excellent English at age 10, my scool mates at age 16 were doing well if they could remember how to ask for a pint of beer in German.
Fortunately things are beginning to change in Britain. We're beginning to realise that maybe it's in our best interests to speak to people in their native tongue. Learning another person's language breaks down cultural barriers, paves the way for new friendships, and opens doors to business opportunities.
With people from other countries pouring into the UK, we're ever more exposed to new langauges and cultures. It's no strange thing to walk down Altrincham High Street and hear Polish, Urdu, Hindi, Mandarin, Cantonese or Romanian being spoken.
So the question we should pose is: what langauges should we be teaching our children, and from what age?
More and more business is carried out with companies oversees - particluarly with China and India. I think this should heavily influence which languages to teach our children. If we want to prepare them for business later in life, the following statistics should determine what languages they should learn:
The world's most spoken languages (native speakers only)
1. Chinese Mandarin - 867 million
2. Hindi - 366 million
3. Spanish - 322 million
4. English - 309 million
5. Arabic - 206 million
6. Portuguese - 178 million
7. Bengali - 171 million
8. Russian - 145 million
9. Japanese - 122 million
10. German - 95 million
Info taken from Wikipedia
So as the statistics show, wouldn't it be better to offer Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish classes at school, and forget the more traditional French and German? With hundreds of thousands of native speakers in our country there'd be no shortage of qualified language teachers for our schools. By starting young our children could learn to speak these languages fluently (just as children abroad learn English to an excellent level). We'd be exposing our children to new cultures, broadening their
horizons, and increasing their opportunities of success in the future.
When should our children begin learning languages at school?
Studies show that the younger a child's brain is, the faster it learns new langauges. Children's brains are like sponges - ready to soak in what they see and hear. They don't need to be taught complicated grammatical structures - their brain works it out for them - in exactly the same way we learnt English as kids. The older a child gets, the more set his/her brain becomes, and the more difficult it can be to learn a new language. I began learning German at age 12 at school. Looking back I
feel this was far too late, as my optimum learning years had already past. I think all schools should start teaching children a new language as early as they begin teaching Maths, English and the other basic subjects - age 4 or younger.
It's time Britain caught up with the rest of the world.
If you're looking to learn a new language and need help finding the best resources to help you on your way, take a look at www.liveandlearnlanguages.com - their expert advice can help you select the best language learning products to complement up your learning program. They provide information on many languages, including Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic and Russian.
Miguel N