AIBU to think it is a good idea for people to learn a 2nd/3rd language at school?

[SerenityNowakaBleh]

Kind of sparked by one of them comments on this article (Helena) who said that "modern languages are a huge waste of time for a lot of children(and adults)(it's the least important subject on the curriculum!).".

AIBU to think that's a bit wrong? I had to learn possibly one of the most useless languages in the world at school, from the age of 6, but learning another language (no matter how useless) did kind of help lay the foundations for other languages. I personally feel that most children, most people would benefit from learning a second language. It gives you a very different perspective on the world, gives you some insight into how other cultures think, and broadens your options?

I am biased, as I am an enthusiastic (though rather rubbish) fan of learning languages, and have seen how it has enriched my life (like being able to translate Communist Baddies in rubbish movies from the 80s from Russian).

I agree.

Out of interest, what was the useless language you learnt at age six?

Afrikaans
(profuse apologies for any Afrikaners on here, but it's not particularly useful outside of the Free State).

i don't know, i learnt french, german and latin at school, all were compulsory in KS3 and then i took German and Latin for GCSE.

I have never used the knowledge and have forgotten my french, very irritating as dhs cousins live in france. In fact i thin i prob have forgotten all of them now.

But i enjoyed it at the time, and actually can still remember the verb formation tables

littleducks - I think it would come back to you quite quickly if you followed a french course.

Yes. I think it's very important.

The english are very lazy in this. So many people around the world speak english as a second language that we've never had the need - when we go abroad very many people can speak to us in english anyway.

I think it's nice to at least make the effort. If you go to another country - at least try to be able to say a few words.

Ah Afrikaans, I thought you were going to say flemish which is very similar!

Very! I have a friend who's Belgian and we once (kind of, drunkenly) managed to have a conversation with me speaking Afrikaans and her speaking Flemish.

see afrikaans did come in handy

I agree with you. I think that as long as the child has a basic grip on English then learning a second or third language would be more benefitial for them than anything else!

Though in some circumstances it is a bad idea (I remember my cousin's high school trying to force him to learn French in year 8 even though he had the reading/writing age of a 7yo! Bad idea.) in most it is brilliant and helps the child gain an understanding of other cultures and I feel makes them have more respect for other cultures and languages.

I really regret loosing my French skills and really regret not insisiting on learning my Dad's language when I was a kid!

This attitude towards language learning is classic short-termism.

It is well established that the (enormous) benefits of learning a second language are totally spearate from the language itself. In fact, the ability to actually use the language is almost a red herring, sort of a nice bonus for the learner.

The real benefits come from the thought processes involved and are transferable to the general education of the individual.

People who don't "get" this (like the lovely Helena, but also like our own govt) really get on my nerves.

Rant over.

I only learnt german and I used it once in Crete discussing football during the worldcup with a nice german man in a bar and I have sort of used it when I go to the Netherlands on holiday as some words are sort of similar.

I am half greek and could understand greek when I was little and apparently even spoke it but I can't now, although I do recognise a few words.

DS was made to learn both french and german in from Yr7 which was wrong for him as he has dyslexic type problems, although he now he seems much happier about it.

Incidentally, Pory - properly handled, the intorduction of a second language can allow children with educational problems a "fresh start" at literacy and numeracy which can be enormously beneficial to them so, while not in a position to judge re your cousin, I would say that even in those circs it is not always a bad idea and can do a lot of good.

It's the only thing I'm quite pushy about for my dcs, I'm adamant they will learn and opt for another language probably french spanish or german. they are being conditioned towards French as i speak it and we go on holiday in France once a year. have started doing some basic French with dd (3) at home and it helps that she has a bilingual friend with a French mum.

My sister is fluent in Spanish too so if they go for Spanish there's lots of opportunities for them to practice. being able to speak french is one of my favourite things about myself and something i'm quite proud of.

essential imo yanbu

Agree with MIFLAW - learning a language has manifold benefits including teaching abstract thinking, improved maths and music skills. It also provides a solid foundation for getting to grips with English grammar - it is so much easier to use any language correctly if you know how and why it works (can you tell this is a personal bugbear of mine?).

CHildren before the age of 7 absorb other languages with very little effort, it's ridiculous that this is not taken advantage of in our education system (though DD's primary school is about to go bi-lingual , so some councils are working on this).

YANBU. I learnt French from 6, and then picked up Spanish as well at 13. Took both at GCSE and then Spanish at A-Level. I definitely think we ought to think outside of our own little box. I also think we need to make sure langauges are taught effectively, made important and that the right langauges are on offer.

Oh, and I did Latin as well, not sure how widely that is taught though.

I don't think it's merely a good idea, I think it's essential but then I would make it compulsory to study at least one modern languange up to A-Level.

MIFLAW: Hm, I can understand that. Learning French in school and reading Harry Potter got me interested in nomenclature and basic Latin, which helped me understand the English language more.

In cousin's case, it wouldn't be right for him because he couldn't handle more work, he didn't want too and wouldn't bother. He's 18 now and is at a special college to gain some GCSE's or anything he can get so that he may be able to find a job one day as even building (which he wants to do) requires a C if not higher in English and Maths and the company his Dad works for is keen on second languages too for some reason. He's paying for not being interested now.

When I have kids I'd like them to learn Farsi from a young age and preferably French before picking up a different language in school.

Hi ladies,
I teach English in Thailand in a nursery school (ages 14 months-5 years old) and they are some of the brightest kids ever! The majority are from Thai mums and expat (various UK, German, French, Russian etc) dads, however most dont speak English at home. The lessons are taught in Thai and then I give them English classes (and yes, the poor babies get TAUGHT LESSONS all day) anyway, they speak Thai, get taught English and Chinese, aaaand then speak whatever language the parents use at home.

I have mixed feelings about the age at which they are taught, however they all seem to take to it so easily at this age and I think it is probably the best time to start. Immerse them rather than confuse them

I think the problem is that many British people don't learn to speak languages well enough for them to be useful - a bit like learning to drive a car so long as there is no traffic around and you never have to park. And so people say 'oh, languages are no real use.'

DH is desparate to recruit people with languages skills who can actually speak to their customers - and this is not a company that thinks of itself as having a particularly European focus, just a small software company in the south of England. He speaks fluent French and German himself, and says it makes a massive different when pitching for work. Only one of the other British people in the company can speak a foreign language to business fluency. If he wants foreign languages, he has to hire Europeans. It is driving me mad, as even the simplest enquiry from a French or German speaker has to go to him, whatever time of day it is.

(I once went to a contemporary opera in Flemish with an Afrikaans speaker, and he definitely got the jokes.)

Yes, aside from the obvious benefits, learning foreign languages also helps you make more of the English language. Gramatically I didn't properly clock what verbs/adverbs/adjectives etc were or how grammar worked until I started doing it in French and subsequent languages. And I find it fascinating being able to spot origins of words that stem from other languages.

I live in Belgium and have a Brazilian friend who is married to an Austrian. She speaks fluent Portuguese, German, Flemish and English. She is teaching at an American school in English. Her daughter has the same grasp of languages. Over here most people (I live in Flanders) speak Flemish, French and English. Some also have German.

Ds is doing French and Flemish at school and will be doing so until GCSE and then doing AS level French in Year 11.

I agree with Fanfare - I learned more about grammar from doing French at school than I really learned about English grammar.

Food tech is the most useless subject on the curriculum closely followed by Citizenshit. Languages are really important and look great on a Uni application.

YANBU. I was told that I couldn't take a third foreign language at school in the UK because it would 'confuse me'. (I'd already done a year of it and was as good in the exams as the native speakers.) My German, Swiss and Russian friends found this very strange (and shook their heads with that 'only in England' look... ).

(I did go on to learn more languages, but I wish the school would have cut me some slack.)

BTW The Russian in '80s films is always terrible! Much better now (now they have Russian speakers to ask, that is).

I also spend too much of my time teaching basic grammar to oxford university students because they (usually) arrive without a clue. (And I am not teaching languages either.)

YANBU. My mum sent me to a lovely French lady once a week from the age of 3 who taught us French ( well the total basics really, please, thank you & may I have some ice cream . It was good fun & I learned a lot. It set me up very nicely for my French GCSE then I went on to study it at A level.

I think not just learning a language but learning it at a young age is immensely beneficial.

I have had exchange students to stay from Quebec & they were totally shocked at how few English people understood basic French. We are put to shame by the rest of the world for our lack of foreign language skills.