I'm a MFL teacher in a secondary school. AMA!

[BlueMediterranean]

I teach Spanish from Yr 7 to Yr 13

Do you think it's easier for teenagers to learn languages than adults?
Did you do a year abroad as part of your MFL degree? If so where did you go?

Do you think it's easier for teenagers to learn languages than adults?

Yes, I do think it's easier for teenagers to learn languages than adults. Even better if they start in primary school!

Did you do a year abroad as part of your MFL degree? If so where did you go?

I don't have a MFL degree. I'm a native Spanish speaker from Madrid

Thanks for answering and sorry for making assumptions about a degree.

Thanks for answering and sorry for making assumptions about a degree.

No worries. To become a teacher you need to do a PGCE. Universities will ask for a language degree but if you are a native speaker they can also accept you but you need to have an university degree in something even if is not related to languages.

Well, there are different routes to become a teacher but I think this is the most popular one.

I'm pretty sure everybody goes abroad as part of their MFL degree.

Do you find it difficult to teach grammar concepts due to the students' lack of understanding of English grammar?

Can everyone really be taught to roll their "r" s?

Do you miss the water from Madrid?

How well can your colleagues speak the languages that they teach?

How well can your colleagues speak the languages that they teach?

My colleagues are fantastic, I wish I could speak English as perfect as they speak Spanish. However you would be surprised how many MFL teachers in KS2 and KS3 (this is primary school and Yr7, 8 and 9) are not very fluent in the language they teach.

How long have you taught in the UK, and in that time how have numbers taking MFL to exam level changed in your schools?

Have you taught a foreign language to learners outside the UK? I wonder what you make of the entrenched UK idea that learning other languages is difficult and that being monoglot in English is the norm? I used to find even that students with, say, a British Asian background who habitually spoke Punjabi or Hindi or Urdu at home didn’t think that ‘counted’.

How long have you taught in the UK
This is my 5th year

and in that time how have numbers taking MFL to exam level changed in your schools?

We have very good numbers taking into account that MFL GCSE is optional in my school. The number of students changes from one year to another.

Have you taught a foreign language to learners outside the UK? I wonder what you make of the entrenched UK idea that learning other languages is difficult and that being monoglot in English is the norm? I used to find even that students with, say, a British Asian background who habitually spoke Punjabi or Hindi or Urdu at home didn’t think that ‘counted’.

No, I've never taught outside UK. I think British students doesn't value learning languages as much as we do in other countries. To be fair, be fluent in English in Spain is a huge advantage but in the UK employers will only take it in into consideration if the job requires speak a foreign language. Most of them want to improve their Spanish because they like the idea of travelling and living in a foreign country and also they love music in Spanish.

You might be interested to know, and explain to students, that a MFL degree really can be a gateway to lots of careers. It’s not just ones that require a language. My DD is a barrister. She studied French and Italian at university. A good MFL degree will never stop you getting the career you want. No need for Italian and French in the UK courts but do tell your students that MFL proves you have a good academic brain!