Learn a language? Why? Which? How? Languages for a better society. In addition to the practical benefit of being able to communicate more successfully with more people, language learning brings cultural and educational advantages which are vital to our well-being: Learning other languages and valuing other cultures promotes tolerance and understanding at home and abroadIntercultural skills are essential to the success of multicultural teams and underpin good management in public services as well as in global businessLanguage learning develops literacy and reading skills (D’Angiulli, Siegel and Serra, 2001) and improves academic achievement (Armstrong and Rogers, 1997)There are important cognitive benefits associated with speaking more than one language (Bialystock, 2001)Specialist interpreters and translators provide essential services for security, diplomacy, international development, human rights and the functioning of justice – as well as for international business, sport and cultural exchange.
English schools not ready for language curriculum change. An area of concern is the transition of language teaching from primary to secondary level. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Primary and secondary schools in England are worried they will not meet new requirements to effectively teach languages, a report from the British Council and CfBT Education Trust has found. The report finds that while many primary schools are already teaching languages (95% of those surveyed), they do not feel prepared to meet the new curriculum's requirements, which will come into force in September 2014. All primary schools in England will be required to teach a language at key stages 2 and 3 at the start of the coming academic year, but less than half (42%) of the primary schools say they are already meeting the requirements of the new national curriculum.
Staffing resources are a particular worry, as nearly a quarter (24%) of primary schools say they have no staff with more than GCSE language qualifications. Why is UK language teaching in crisis? Britain's foreign languages skills are in crisis. During the past month alone, ministers, university representatives, exam chiefs and industry bodies have each voiced their concern as entries to degree and A-level modern foreign language courses plummeted. So few young people are learning languages that in 10 years' time as many as 40% of university language departments are likely to close. Where did it all go wrong for UK language teaching?
The watershed moment came in 2004, when the government decided to make languages optional at GCSE, according to Shirley Lawes, subject leader for PGCE languages at the Institute of Education in London. "At the time, the argument put forward was that if languages were taught in primary schools then people would automatically want to carry on with them post-14.
" But this assumption was misguided and naive, she says. One of those the problems is the shortage of language teachers which is affecting both primaries and secondaries. Foreign language learning statistics. Data from September 2012. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Figure 1: Proportion of pupils in primary education learning foreign languages, by language, 2010 (1)(%) - Source: Eurostat (educ_ilang), UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), OECD Table 1: Foreign languages learnt per pupil in secondary education, 2005 and 2010 (1)(%) - Source: Eurostat (educ_thfrlan) and (educ_ilang), UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), OECD Main statistical findings Primary education Within primary education, a clear majority of pupils (choose to) study English. Many of the central and eastern European Member States that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 were characterised by the fact that learning Russian was compulsory in the past.
Secondary education Data sources and availability Data on the number of pupils studying foreign languages are related to the corresponding numbers of students enrolled; mentally handicapped students enrolled in special schools are excluded. ISCED: International Standard Classification of Education. The world's education systems vary widely in terms of structure and curricular content. Consequently, it can be difficult for national policymakers to compare their own education systems with those of other countries or to benchmark progress towards national and international goals. What is the role of the UIS? UNESCO developed the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to facilitate comparisons of education statistics and indicators across countries on the basis of uniform and internationally agreed definitions.
In 2011, a revision to ISCED was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States. ISCED 2011 mappings are currently under development. ISCED Fields of Education and Training During the ISCED 2011 review, UNESCO Member States agreed that the fields of education should be examined in a separate process. Isced97-en. Language teaching methods. Listed below are brief summaries of some of the more popular second language teaching methods of the last half century.
For a more detailed analysis of the different methods, see Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Richards, J. and Rodgers, T (1986) CUP Cambridge. The Direct Method Grammar-translation Learning is largely by translation to and from the target language. Audio-lingual The theory behind this method is that learning a language means acquiring habits. The structural approach This method sees language as a complex of grammatical rules which are to be learned one at a time in a set order. Suggestopedia The theory underlying this method is that a language can be acquired only when the learner is receptive and has no mental blocks. Total Physical Response (TPR) TPR works by having the learner respond to simple commands such as "Stand up", "Close your book", "Go to the window and open it. " Communicative language teaching (CLT) The Silent Way Community Language Learning Immersion.
Illustration. Quote - Limit of Language. Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. Described by Bertrand Russell as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating", he helped inspire two of the twentieth century's principal philosophical movements: the Vienna Circle and Oxford ordinary language philosophy.
According to an end of the century poll, professional philosophers in Canada and the U.S. rank both his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations among the top five most important books in twentieth-centu...moreLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.
(less) Listening: Reaction v's Response - London School of English. This post is written by guest blogger and English Language Trainer Michael Brooman. In the process of study it can be easy to overlook the real reason for learning a second language and the purpose of language itself. Unless they intend to become a linguist or grammarian, people primarily learn English to improve their ability to communicate. Communication is the main reason why language exists. However, expanding your vocabulary or your knowledge of grammar rules is only one aspect of improving your communication abilities. One of the most overlooked of communication skills is listening. When we listen reactively we are listening through our past, through our preconceived ideas, prejudices and what we think we already know.
The other kind of listening is responsive. Get into the habit of noticing what you do when someone is sharing something with you in a conversation. By Michael Brooman Glossary to overlook (v.) - to miss or not notice primarily (adv.) - firstly or mostly.
English in France.