It’s time to rethink UK foreign language education

Language schooling in the Uk is worrying: attainment concentrations are small, inspiration to discover a international tongue is on the drop, and the languages accessible to learn in educational institutions — normally minimal to French, German, and Spanish — are not at all agent of Britain’s intensely assorted array of worldwide buying and selling associates. Upon leaving university, it is not uncommon to listen to of folks not remembering considerably beyond the standard ‘bonjour’, ‘wie geht’s’? or basic numerals (‘uno’ to ‘diez’). The uptake of some geopolitically powerful languages this sort of as Arabic and Mandarin is even reduce thanks to difficulties of linguistic length.

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“Fewer and much less EU nationals will be capable to contribute their language money to the UK”

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Brexit has only complicated these kinds of traits. Study performed at College College or university London and Stockholm University implies that the impetus guiding the conclusion to depart the European Union is tied to cultural values and national identity — British nationalism and involved attitudes to immigration developments may have been a driving force driving this selection. I often wonder whether these types of perceptions stem from the inadequacy of the United kingdom language education and learning curriculum in the very first location — possibly owing to the boundaries to communication in international languages, or the absence of crucial wondering on tradition and culture (significantly Decoloniality) that occurs from the UK’s deficient language schooling.

Professional-go away voters may see Brexit as a purpose to toss overseas language textbooks out the window, but the reality is significantly additional complex. The change of immigration legal guidelines in wake of Brexit signifies that fewer and less EU nationals will be capable to lead their language money to the United kingdom, whether or not this be in the kind of language academics and translators, or proficient multilingual communicators. Prior to Brexit, the UK’s lack of language money brought on the nation a whopping 4.8 billion GBP for every 12 months, and this quantity is possible to boost additional if nationwide language mastering developments do not adjust.

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“I hope for this nation to re-embrace the variety that when designed it inspiring”

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With regard to language capacity, United kingdom educators have also pointed to trouble in GCSE and A-stage examinations, inappropriate instructing approaches, and the meagre number of educating hrs as good reasons for the declining language uptake in latest yrs. In my view, technological acquisition of verbs and grammar is one particular detail, but crucial contemplating in language instruction is a extra urgent challenge worth tackling. At the main of this is what language understanding signifies on a broader spectrum and how it interacts with the British perception of interculturality. In light-weight of Brexit, at this juncture the Uk may possibly hugely profit from a unified goal of finding out throughout subjects — there is some dimension of the foreign language curriculum that might intersect with that of background or geography, and acknowledging and creating upon these connections would strongly reinforce healthier and fewer biased cross-cultural imagining.

The introduction of Brexit provides a important time, now a lot more than at any time, to rethink British isles language education and learning. The position of English stays essential on the global phase, but what does this necessarily mean for Uk language schooling additional broadly? What form of language capital does the United kingdom want — economically and politically — and how can this be realistically attained? On the lookout earlier the linguistic electric power of English, how can foreign language education and learning elevate the UK’s knowledge of humanity in an at any time-developing, mutually reliant world-wide village? Crucially, what are pivotal measures for educators to consider in the meantime? These questions, in my eyes as an educational linguist, are significantly from becoming resolved to the extent desired.

I really like the British isles as an intercontinental college student — it gave me a next possibility at life, and I hope for this nation to re-embrace the diversity that once built it inspiring. The British Council candidly acknowledged in their 2019 language tendencies survey report that ’monolingualism is the illiteracy of the 21st century’. The upcoming huge action, tough nevertheless it may well be, is to completely transform these phrases into a reliable, culturally accommodating curriculum.