MFL in the UK

[Acopyofacopy]

One of my lovely Year 10s said today: Miss, is your English so good because in Europe they actually teach you the language and here you are taught to pass a test?

I admit that with mocks going on at the moment I have had GCSEs on my mind a lot and talked about exam strategies etc. Their take on it has made me really sad, though. I would like to believe that I am not just teaching to the test but equipping them with valuable skills for life.

Any positive stories much appreciated.

I think the problem in the UK is that languages are not really valued, despite a business need. It’s not a recognised “need” across society - there’s still the assumption that everyone speaks English. This means a lack of foreign language programming, it’s hard to get foreign language books and magazines unless you are in London or good enough to navigate the overseas amazon websites, and we barely bother teaching them until year seven as all available time seems to go on English and maths.

You are equipping them with life skills, but the overall environment isn’t conducive to helping you (or them). In the absence of a reason to need to use the MFL, it might feel like they just have to memorise lists and forms to pass a test. However, the knowledge they gain might be the foundation for their later development of fluency - I only picked up my MFL properly again at age 29 and I have one particularly amazing German teacher to thank for quite a lot in my current life.