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Capergirl · Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:09 pm Post subject:

Sorry if you were offended, Mike. This is merely my opinion on the subject.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

If you are unfortunate enough to be in the English educational system then you have that awful A-level system to contend with. North of the border in Scotland they have a more sensible, and more European approach with the broader system of Highers. There it is common to take 5 or 6 subjects, and so the inclusion of a modern foreignlanguage is common.
Go North, young man !

baby predator · Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 5:58 am Post subject:

Scot, I agree that the Highers system is a lot more flexible than the A level system, but the quality of foreign language teaching in Scotland is still abysmal. How well I remember my French teacher pronouncing "Ou est la gare?" with a thick Scottish accent. Very Happy

Mike, I'm not sure where you are going with your argument. It's as if you are trying to prove that greed is the primary motive for most Europeans to learn English, whereas Brits only learn second languages for cultural or intellectual reasons. I think the situation is a lot more complex than that. Most Europeans do not work in international business; they spend most of their time speaking and working in their native languages - just like Brits. They learn English because their educational systems recognise the importance of English as a lingua franca and have better systems in place for teaching it. They also learn it because it is a compulsory subject for most of them - they don't necessarily have the luxury of choosing it like you or I could choose French, German or no languages at all. Sure, the ones who want to make it in international business probably do expend extra effort on learning English, but the groundwork has already been done.

And whilst its not just laziness that stops native English speakers learning another language, I agree with capergirl that laziness and arrogance play a huge part in our refusal to do so. And I can testify to the truth of this since I was both lazy and arrogant when it came to choosing my highers at school. Embarassed

I knew if I ever went to France or Germany, I'd be able to get by without speaking French or German. I dismissed the idea that learning someone else's language might open up new doors in my head - or teach me anything I didn't already know about languages, culture and communication. And I never even considered the possibility that I might LIVE abroad one day. Why would I want to, when I already lived in the greatest place on earth? Much as you and I might despise this attitude now, many of our countrymen and women still cherish it. You only have to look at the immense tourist compounds in Spain where Brits can go to experience "abroad" without havingto do anything demeaning like eat local food or try the local language. Twisted Evil

Our empire may have crumbled, but the attitudes that formed it still linger on.

Mike_2003 · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 344 Location: Bucharest, Romania

Baby predator,

Thank you for your comments. I think I need to clarify my point a little. You summarized it well with:

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

I still dont know what I want to do, and Im 36 and have been in EFL for 15 years

jud · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 127 Location: Italy

Actually it's not so easy to find an Italian who speaks English, particularly outside of Rome, Milan, Turin, etc.

English is often taught here like foreign languages are often taught in America: by non-native speakers whose control of the language is questionable, and who rely on translation.