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Dossier : 43 leçons d'anglais pour enrichir votre vocabulaire
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°43 : Do we work too much?
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°42 : Where is Haiti now?
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°41 : The music business - Profit or loss ?
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°40 : Rapper Jay-Z releases new book
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°39 : Student Protest Divides Nation
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°38 : Nick Leeson - UK’s Jerome Kerviel
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°37 : A British view of the French education system
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°36 : Fertility tourism
- Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°35 : The Graduates' Difficulties
Enrichir votre vocabulaire d’anglais en quelques clics, ça vous dit ? Avec son partenaire MyCow, letudiant.fr vous propose de (re)découvrir des notions-clés dans de très nombreux thèmes, grâce à la lecture "active" d’articles rédigés par des journalistes anglo-saxons : il vous suffit de passer votre souris sur le mot souligné pour en avoir la traduction ! Et pour améliorer votre prononciation, écoutez le texte lu par un anglophone, en qualité audio mp3.
By Bex
Vocabulaire d'anglais, leçon n°34 : Why the English need to learn another language
Résumé en français : pourquoi apprendre une autre langue quand on parle déjà anglais? Peut être faut-il voir dans une langue autre chose qu'un simple outil de communication.
Surprisingly perhaps, the so-called "world language", English, is spoken as a first language by just 7% of people in the world; 75% of people speak no English. In Britain, we forget this. We assume that since hundreds of thousands of people learn our mother tongue in order to improve their work and business prospects, to communicate with people in different countries and even just for pleasure, we don’t need to bother learning theirs. We assume that we don’t need to learn another language because ‘everyone speaks English’. Not only is this not true, but to me this attitude suggests arrogance, ignorance and a lack of respect.
But the government and the education system in the UK are not helping matters. Six years ago, the Labour government removed modern languages (French, and German or Spanish in most secondary schools) from the main curriculum. Students can choose whether or not to continue learning a language after the age of 14. It is only compulsory for the first two or three years of secondary school, by which point most students have grasped only the very basics. Primary schools are supposed to be bringing the study of languages into their curriculum. However, this hasn’t really taken off in most towns. The idea was that we should be learning languages at an earlier age, in order to keep up with the rest of Europe, and yet the fact that we stop much sooner doesn’t seem to fit with this goal.
As a result of the government’s initiative, fewer and fewer students are taking languages on to GSCE (the national exam taken at 16), and fewer still to A-level (the national exam taken at 18). Many people believe that this is because languages are seen as being difficult subjects or because there is no use in studying a language, again ‘since everybody speaks English’. The number of students taking German has halved in seven years. At the majority of state-schools, 75% of 14-year-olds are not taking a modern language. It goes without saying that in a few years time, there will be fewer students taking languages at degree-level and fewer teachers to pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm. At a time when there is huge competition for graduate jobs in the UK (seventy candidates for one position in some sectors), there are jobs in the European Union, earmarked for Britons, which are left unfilled. Why? The entrance exams are meant to be taken in a second language.
Not only does learning foreign languages open doors for the future and improve communication skills, but more importantly it means that you broaden your world and show respect for others. It also helps break down stereotypes and ignorance. If you are in a foreign country, then surely you must attempt to speak the language – even if it is badly-pronounced or with the aid of a phrasebook! How well you speak it is not the point, it’s the fact that you try. In my opinion, the government and schools in the UK would do well to remember that.
Surprisingly perhaps, the so-called "world language", English, is spoken as a first language by just 7% of people in the world; 75% of people speak no English. In Britain, we forget this. We assume that since hundreds of thousands of people learn our mother tongue in order to improve their work and business prospects, to communicate with people in different countries and even just for pleasure, we don’t need to bother learning theirs. We assume that we don’t need to learn another language because ‘everyone speaks English’. Not only is this not true, but to me this attitude suggests arrogance, ignorance and a lack of respect.
But the government and the education system in the UK are not helping matters. Six years ago, the Labour government removed modern languages (French, and German or Spanish in most secondary schools) from the main curriculum. Students can choose whether or not to continue learning a language after the age of 14. It is only compulsory for the first two or three years of secondary school, by which point most students have grasped only the very basics. Primary schools are supposed to be bringing the study of languages into their curriculum. However, this hasn’t really taken off in most towns. The idea was that we should be learning languages at an earlier age, in order to keep up with the rest of Europe, and yet the fact that we stop much sooner doesn’t seem to fit with this goal.
As a result of the government’s initiative, fewer and fewer students are taking languages on to GSCE (the national exam taken at 16), and fewer still to A-level (the national exam taken at 18). Many people believe that this is because languages are seen as being difficult subjects or because there is no use in studying a language, again ‘since everybody speaks English’. The number of students taking German has halved in seven years. At the majority of state-schools, 75% of 14-year-olds are not taking a modern language. It goes without saying that in a few years time, there will be fewer students taking languages at degree-level and fewer teachers to pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm. At a time when there is huge competition for graduate jobs in the UK (seventy candidates for one position in some sectors), there are jobs in the European Union, earmarked for Britons, which are left unfilled. Why? The entrance exams are meant to be taken in a second language.
Not only does learning foreign languages open doors for the future and improve communication skills, but more importantly it means that you broaden your world and show respect for others. It also helps break down stereotypes and ignorance. If you are in a foreign country, then surely you must attempt to speak the language – even if it is badly-pronounced or with the aid of a phrasebook! How well you speak it is not the point, it’s the fact that you try. In my opinion, the government and schools in the UK would do well to remember that.
By Bex
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Aller plus loin > Progresser en langues> Partir étudier à l'étranger > Tout savoir sur le bac 2011 > Booster son niveau en langues > Tout pour réussir les langues au bac > Nos quizz d'anglais > Décrocher un job d’été à l’étranger > Trouver un job d’été à Londres > Les offres de jobs à l'étranger > Les offres de stages à l'étranger > Portrait : Partir étudier en Angleterre selon Chloé, étudiante en droit à Londres > Vidéo : Les conseils d'un professeur d'anglais pour réussir vos révisions du bac |
| À consulter aussi : les autres leçons d'anglais en texte et audio |
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