Fewer British children are learning a foreign language.

Fewer British children are learning a foreign language at school and this is having a knock on effect for language teaching in schools and in higher education.

Even though more Britons than ever are travelling abroad and the numbers of second homes owned in Europe has increased dramatically, language learning amongst our young people is at an all time low. Young people increasingly see the investment in learning a language to be difficult and pointless, despite the fact that an international employment market is clearly developing. Although some schools in certain sectors are maintaining standards, many commentators have pointed to overworked resources and dissatisfaction with teaching methods. Even those children who are learning a language at school spend significantly less time in class each week than French or German children of the same age. See the article headline below.

Puede leer este titular? Si no, esta es la razón...*

*The headline says: Can you read this headline? If not, here is the reason… This week thousands of British schoolchildren will head off on foreign holidays – but, sadly, many won’t be able to speak a word to the locals. Fewer and fewer pupils are studying foreign languages, and language teaching in our schools is in a dire state.
See the Guardian article in full.

A new study on the teaching of languages at schools in Europe

EU pupils are learning foreign languages at an earlier age.

The European Commission has recently presented the results of a new study on the teaching of languages at schools in Europe. This study conducted by the Eurydice Network, gives a comprehensive picture of language teaching, from primary to secondary general education, in 31 European countries (27 EU members, 3 in the European Economic Area and Turkey).

The study demonstrates a growing support for language learning in general education, with more learning of a foreign language at an early age.

The study shows that in almost all European countries, compulsory learning of a foreign language begins in primary education, generally from the age of 8 to 10, sometime earlier as in all autonomous communities of Spain, and in Belgium’s German speaking community, where children learn a foreign language from the age of 3.

As for the languages taught, the study reveals a preeminence of English which is taught to 90% of all European pupils at some stage of their compulsory education.

In 13 European countries, English is the compulsory first foreign language. Even when a choice is provided, pupils and their parents tend to opt for English, which is now the most widely taught language in primary education. When a second foreign language is taught, French and German are favored.

To find out more on this subject read the EACEA press release.

What’s the future for online library Europeana?

You can now access books, journals, films, maps etc from across Europe via the EU’s online library, Europeana.

It’s a great idea but it’s not all plain sailing: web copyright rules are not the same in all EU countries, there are issues about paying for items that are still under copyright and should there be a minimum standard for content?

To find out more on this subject read this press release from the European Parliament.

New child protection rules threaten foreign exchange trips for children.

New child protection rules threaten foreign exchange trips for children

Changes in the child protection rules could change the way the traditional school foreign exchange is organised, claimed the Lib Dem children’s spokesman David Laws MP. He is worried that tightening controls on host families could make it harder for schools to organise language exchange trips. This fact, combined with the recent Government decision to make language study voluntary at 14 could make it even less likely that British children will speak foreign languages. See the article headline below.

Vive la différence!

Foreign exchange trips are under threat from new child-protection rules, an MP has warned. Stuart Jeffries considers the perils and pleasures of school swaps, while Guardian writers recall their most memorable experiences. See Guardian Article in full