Another language, anyone?
August 21st 2007 00:54
English is the most common lingua franca, so it shouldn't be too surprising to find that a decent number of persons from non-English speaking countries can, indeed, speak it. But where do they learn it, and do we, the inhabitants of English speaking countries put the same effort they do into getting ourselves some foreign language knowledge? I, your Orble Informant, set out to investigate.
It appears that schools abroad are responsible for the primary English lessons our international counterparts receive.
What's that, schools actually teaching things? I know, I know, I was as shocked as you are, but it's true! In some countries English is even a compulsory subject. My not-so-strenuous investigation discovered that Argentina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, India, Sweden and Turkey all have English classes embedded somewhere in their school's curriculum. The first English lesson (according to my research anyway) occurred during primary/ elementary school, but it seems not all schools nation-wide implement the same schedule. An example being the 3 year discrepancy between the years my 2 Bulgarian Research Rodents began learning English.
But are these English lessons viewed as 'fillers' for one's timetable, or are they regarded as an important component of the global citezen's tool case? It seems the latter would be more correct with Finland and Sweden being among the nations that have made English compulsory. Furthermore, graduating from Swedish high school involves passing your exams for Mathematics, Swedish and English.
So, it's been established that schools are up to their necks in this English teaching business, but what else is involved? Who are the accessories before and after the fact and who's driving the get away car? Certainly not me officer, I was at home all day. Honest.
Songs and books frequently cropped up, with my Research Rodents stating they listened to English songs and translated the lyrics into their native languages, and textual material such as Harry Potter was also used to tighten one's grip on the language.
My hat goes off to the young persons that were involved in the aforementioned research, as all of them communicated with myself in fluent English. But now I shall turn my attention to the youth of Australia. How well do they speak a foreign language? Not well, according to my research.
It seems my Australian Research Rodents were exposed to the vapours of foreign language during the time they were at something called 'school'. After the initial encounter, only 1/6 went on to display a disposition to pursue this tangent with the others becoming 99% foreign language free over the next few years. They retained a few words, but I have been assured it's nothing fluent.
But laboratory accidents aside, it seems a second language has been identified as a desirable trait, with the Japanese and German variants being the most desired variants. The reasons cited for this can generally be described as globalisation and heritage.
Some of those involved in this part of my research would like to travel overseas. Some expressed the desire to live in another nation (really, the lab isn't that bad) while others felt mastering a language besides English would enhance career prospects both domestically and internationally.
Others still wanted to strengthen their connection with their culture. They may have forgotten their Mother tongue, or never known it at all and this saddens them, poor dears, so they endeavour to expand the noises they can produce with their mouths.
The difference between these endeavours and those made by our international friends is that these endeavours seem to have stalled. I suspect a deck punctured by the Great Barrier Reef is to blame. In any case, while a desire to learn another language was expressed, it seems little had actually been done to get that happening. The attempts to teach a second language at school in these cases happened later and were more fleeting than those made overseas. So, while I go to tend to a possible leakage in the Language Ship, I shall leave you dear reader, to ponder the direction we ought to sail in.
It appears that schools abroad are responsible for the primary English lessons our international counterparts receive.
What's that, schools actually teaching things? I know, I know, I was as shocked as you are, but it's true! In some countries English is even a compulsory subject. My not-so-strenuous investigation discovered that Argentina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, India, Sweden and Turkey all have English classes embedded somewhere in their school's curriculum. The first English lesson (according to my research anyway) occurred during primary/ elementary school, but it seems not all schools nation-wide implement the same schedule. An example being the 3 year discrepancy between the years my 2 Bulgarian Research Rodents began learning English.
But are these English lessons viewed as 'fillers' for one's timetable, or are they regarded as an important component of the global citezen's tool case? It seems the latter would be more correct with Finland and Sweden being among the nations that have made English compulsory. Furthermore, graduating from Swedish high school involves passing your exams for Mathematics, Swedish and English.
So, it's been established that schools are up to their necks in this English teaching business, but what else is involved? Who are the accessories before and after the fact and who's driving the get away car? Certainly not me officer, I was at home all day. Honest.
Songs and books frequently cropped up, with my Research Rodents stating they listened to English songs and translated the lyrics into their native languages, and textual material such as Harry Potter was also used to tighten one's grip on the language.
My hat goes off to the young persons that were involved in the aforementioned research, as all of them communicated with myself in fluent English. But now I shall turn my attention to the youth of Australia. How well do they speak a foreign language? Not well, according to my research.
It seems my Australian Research Rodents were exposed to the vapours of foreign language during the time they were at something called 'school'. After the initial encounter, only 1/6 went on to display a disposition to pursue this tangent with the others becoming 99% foreign language free over the next few years. They retained a few words, but I have been assured it's nothing fluent.
But laboratory accidents aside, it seems a second language has been identified as a desirable trait, with the Japanese and German variants being the most desired variants. The reasons cited for this can generally be described as globalisation and heritage.
Some of those involved in this part of my research would like to travel overseas. Some expressed the desire to live in another nation (really, the lab isn't that bad) while others felt mastering a language besides English would enhance career prospects both domestically and internationally.
Others still wanted to strengthen their connection with their culture. They may have forgotten their Mother tongue, or never known it at all and this saddens them, poor dears, so they endeavour to expand the noises they can produce with their mouths.
The difference between these endeavours and those made by our international friends is that these endeavours seem to have stalled. I suspect a deck punctured by the Great Barrier Reef is to blame. In any case, while a desire to learn another language was expressed, it seems little had actually been done to get that happening. The attempts to teach a second language at school in these cases happened later and were more fleeting than those made overseas. So, while I go to tend to a possible leakage in the Language Ship, I shall leave you dear reader, to ponder the direction we ought to sail in.
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