A question about native English speakers and foreign languages

[DelphineMarineaux]

Hello!
I'm not a native English speaker so please bear with the mistakes and errors I might make.

I would like to ask native English speakers (particularly those that have only grown up speaking English) if you are proficient or fluent in any other language than English? As in, can you proficiently read, write, understand and communicate in another language aside from English? If so, may I ask where you learned whatever foreign language you know from?

I don't live in an English speaking country so I'm also curious to know how much education kids in English speaking countries get in foreign languages at school? And are the kids learning foreign languages on a high level? As in when they graduate from school, are they able to proficiently read, write, understand and communicate in a / several foreign language(s)?

Aaand a little bonus question: If you don't know any foreign languages, but had the opportunity to learn any foreign language in the world, which would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

I am proficient in one other modern language and can get by in a few others. Two I learned at school. One I continued at University. But I wouldn't really have considered myself proficient until after I went to live in another country while a student where that language is spoken. Although I could read it well, I spent the first three months mostly baffled by conversations, but then it just 'clicked'. The other two I did at evening classes as an adult, with the bonus of a good start in those languages by having studied Latin at school. Basic conversational level really. I can read those languages, but would have trouble writing in them coherently. And don't have enough opportunity to practise any of them these days...

I'm a foreigner living in the UK and I speak 4 languages, 3 of them fluently (can use them at work). DH is British and learnt German in school, his level used to be intermediate after high school and now is more close to a beginner. He can't read, write or speak properly through lack of practice. That's the story of the majority of English people I know why bother when your native language is the international language unless you are into linguistics or foreign culture.

French. But I am Canadian and we start at 4.

I think in the UK there isn't an 'obvious' second language to learn, and so much of the world learns English that there is a bit of a 'why bother' approach.

Plus the teaching of languages at primary is so woeful.

I did French at school, I can 'get by' in terms of holiday French, but no more than that. My DD is pretty good at Spanish though.

My language proficiency has been fluid depending on use. My french used to be fluent but is now intermediate at best - i lived in belgium, studied it to first year university when i switched to italian .. so in italian i used to be fluent after a year abroad but i never used it afterwards so its fairly basic now. Lived in germany but the majority of germans would speak to me in english (despite my opener in german) so that remained fairly rudimentary.

It is really hard to be a native english speaker and learn a foreign language. I mostly did at university or on specific language courses. I found that I was constantly battling other language speakers’ desire to use their english, which was almost always at a higher level than my foreign language!

I cant speak any foreign languages. I did A level French and at the time I could read a French newspaper and make myself understood on a very basic level. I can still just about read an article but my speach is rubbish.

My son was only taught languages for two years and this is very normal in England. He did Spanish and French but pursued neither. I dont think he can order a meal in either language.

Id like to speak Russian

English native speaker and can’t speak any other language apart from very basic common French phrases.

I really wish I could and I wish the British education system was more geared towards teaching second languages from a young age.

I am 46. I started learning French at primary school, aged ten, then studied it for seven years at secondary school (11 to 14 it was compulsory, 15 and 16 it was compulsory to study a language but it could have been German, 17 and 18 it was my choice to study it for A Level). I then at university studied French literature in French as a small part of my degree.
However at no point during my life would I say or have said I was fluent in French. I can read it OKish, write it with many grammatical mistakes, speak it to be understood but with many grammatical mistakes but absolutely cannot follow a conversation or TV programme. There is no way I could use it for work.
We also studied German for two years at school and had the choice to continue with it. I studied Latin, if you can count that as a language, between the ages of 12 and 16. And Russian for two years 16 to 18, and have returned to it now via Duolingo, but am still only at the “my sister is an engineer” stage really.

Foreign language provision and teaching is generally very poor in the UK. I have A level French, but am not fluent. Unless you grow up in a multilingual family or continue to degree level I think it is very difficult to be fluent in another language.

Got an F in French GCSE in 1991. I'd only studied it 5 years and it was still a great mystery to me!
I'm fluent in Spanish and Catalan because I have lived here 20+ years.
I'd like to go back to learning French again as we visit often and it's a beautiful language.

I teach English here. State schools teach English from primary, around 4yo. But even now at 10yo DD's classes centre around vocab and I like/I don't like. Very very basic. Things kick off at secondary, but they are large classes and based on grammar not speaking. There are tons of academies supplying after-school classes to get students through exams. You must have B1 level here to graduate university, it was B2 up until a few years ago.

British born. I only know English and a few basics in a couple of languages.
I learnt French from about 4-11 and then 12-14, and I remember little to none of it. I used to do activity books etc in French and we went there every year but after 11 I switched to German (no choice, school classes were split down the middle for the 7, half did french, half did German, then you picked up the other language again in yr8-9, then for yes 10+11 selected which language to do)
German I studied from 11-16 and can do holiday basics, but barely that these days.
I studied Latin from age 11-16 but was always terrible at it (though some how ended up with a good exam mark, who knows how)

My family is historically Italian and we still have family over there. I've tried multiple times to learn, taken classes etc. Im currently using babbel and can get by on holiday for basics but little else.

I really don't have an ear for languages. It's one of my biggest disappointments. I would love to be fluent in Italian especially.

I think people in some non-English speaking countries have an advantage (if that's not too blunt a term) by having a day to day exposure to English language via pop songs and films that doesn't much apply in the English speaking world.

not proficiently. Did French at school, but didnt do well, but have spent a lot of time trying to learn it as an adult, and can get by in it, but far from fluent. I think its hard for most people to become fluent in a language theyre not using all the time, unless they have a natural aptitude for codes and languages

I can't speak any foreign languages fluently at all. I did 3 years of compulsory school French between the ages 11-14, then 2 years of German between 14-16, scraping a D at GCSE. My German and French were both terrible, as a byproduct of never really hearing either spoken, and also not having a solid understanding of grammar in english due to the educational fashion at the time.

I did 2 years of Spanish with the Open University, and I could slowly and painstakingly write and speak it, but my listening and reading comprehension was much better. All that has wasted away in the intervening 10 years.

I do think it is difficult to motivate a native English speaker to become fluent in a foreign language, mainly because there are so many choices of language and unless there is a compelling reason (relationshiips, relocation) you will always feel like you have chosen the wrong one.

Learning resources have improved massively in that you can often access different languages and subtitles via streaming services, and there are more internet resources such as duolingo. But you know, it's still hard.

Foreign language provision in everyday education in the UK is pathetic

I learned French at school (GCSE) and continued to develop it by speaking to friends and being in France alot. I am not fluent but I'm more than passable. I can talk about most stuff, can watch a movie without subtitles (sometimes) and can read it pretty much perfectly. Sometimes/often get caught out by slang and sometimes miss the exact intended sense of something I'm reading, I might take something that's light-hearted or sarcastic seriously for example

I have about shopping level German

I studied languages at university and now work abroad but I still speak mainly English and I've almost completely lost one of my two degree-level languages from lack of use. I've learned 3 other languages along the way but lost them too. I just don't have much motivation to find opportunities to use them. I use mainly English at work and then my second language for a fair bit of day-to-day stuff but I could not say that I am perfectly fluent in it.

Oh and I know a few words in Welsh (count to ten, hello, goodbye etc) from my time at University there!

I am the child of a European parent who didn't speak to us in their native tongue. I am so upset now that I didn't get a chance to learn it when I was young. I'm trying so hard now but I'm not a natural linguist but have paid for lessons and use Duolingo every day. I'll never fluent but I definitely understand more than I ever did before.

I was educated outside UK.
I was maybe proficient in Spanish: from school & community exposure. I've lost most of that but can still read ok.

I can read a lot of French -- mostly due to an excellent school teacher; only had lessons age 16-17.

The English system for teaching MFL is dreadful, imho. Scattered bitty lessons are very inadequate.

I'd like to learn Korean.

I can speak and understand German and Scottish Gaelic. But am better at reading both. I wouldn't say I'm fluent by any means but can understand it. Due to my family heritage. I had French lessons at school but couldn't tell you what I learnt 😂

I speak three foreign languages - one learned at school, one at university and one from living there. I can get by in a few more, although my listening is poor, due to bad hearing. It takes quite a lot of work to keep up the first ones I learned.

Laziness is often mentioned as a reason why Brits don't learn languages, and I think that's a little unfair. With most A'Level candidates only doing three subjects, I imagine many of them would like to do a language but have to choose other subjects for their career. Certainly that was the case with my best pal at school, who did French and Spanish GCSEs and wanted to continue his French, but it wasn't compatible with his science ambitions.

I'm a native English speaker. I have fluency in two other languages and can get by in a couple more. All learned through school/self study/ time in country

I'm a native English speaker. I have passable French for holidays - spent a lot of time in France on holiday. Learned in School initially - we started in (average State) primary - I have paid for lessons in adulthood. I enjoy being able to at least get by - I can read books in French (and I have quite a few).

Hardly any Primary schools in UK start foreign languages. Usually French or Spanish or German offered after 11 yrs of age.
Very few children I know take exams in languages.
I spent time working in Iran and learned enough Farsi to get by in shops or with workers. Most engineers I met had studied engineering in English Medium Colleges. I never learned to read it though.
Similarly when I worked in Egypt learned some Arabic.
Would like to learn Farsi properly, it has a much softer sound.

The issue is, there is no comprehensive primary education in languages.

Primary schools are teaching Spanish because Rosa who taught there 12 years ago made a stack of lesson plans that are being reused, or Chinese because the executive head thinks that would be more useful….

These kids will only have 40 minutes a week in whatever language, taught by people who generally aren’t professionals- then off to secondary school where they teach German, not Spanish so all of their early education can’t be put to use.

There is no continuity, no spiral. Kids are having a Duolingo style education with so much chop and change, rather than studying a language in depth. Those who are passionate will take up the subject at age 14 for further study, then may receive 2 hours a week tuition instead of 40 mins-1 hour

The only way for the UK to get their population speaking a language coherently across the board is to pick an official second language of education that EVERYONE learns from 4, which is continued as a subject in secondary school that cannot be dropped.