Posted on August 24th, 2012by Michelle
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Following last week’s news of a decline in the number of students studying some languages at A-Level, the Telegraph have put together a list of their top 10 “best languages to study” for graduate jobs.
The full list:
1. German
2. French
3. Spanish
4. Mandarin
5. Polish
6. Arabic
7. Cantonese
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. Portuguese
The list is somewhat surprising, given that students are choosing not to study German, French and Spanish in favour of Japanese and Mandarin.
The survey asked UK firm managers what languages are useful for their business. Given that Germany’s the only country defying the depression in the eurozone, I’m not surprised it tops the list.
What do you think is the “best” language to study?
Posted on August 19th, 2012by Michelle
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This week was A-Level results week, where thousands of young people found out what their immediate future holds.
It appears that fewer young people are choosing languages to be part of their future, with reports saying that the number of British teenagers choosing a European language A-Level has fallen.
The number of students taking German has fallen below 5,000, with entries in French down to around 12,500. Interesting, languages such as Polish, Arabic and Japanese have seen a slight rise in the number of candidates. It seems that languages traditionally studied in British schools are proving less popular with young people.
Andrew Hall, chief executive of the AQA exam board, said the drop in the number of people taking A-levels in traditional modern foreign languages was a real worry. “We have the euro economy in crisis – I think modern foreign languages are in the same place,” he said.
There was no magic bullet to fix the problem, Hall said, but he welcomed the government’s move this year to introduce modern languages in primary schools.
Mark Dawe, chief executive of the OCR exam board, said universities had made it clear they wanted students with qualifications in science and maths. “I’m not sure the message has been as strong around languages, so they could assist in this approach,” he said. (Source: The Guardian)
Posted on September 25th, 2011by Michelle
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Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard has presented to a committee of MSPs on the subject of languages.
In a petition, he told the committee that more needs to be done to protect lesser taught languages such as Polish, Russian and Czech. The teaching of these languages in Scottish institutions is currently under threat, with Glasgow University considering axing the teaching of five languages.
Sir Tom was born in Czechoslovakia and came to Britain as a refugee. He told the committee:
“For me the reputation for teaching language in general, and East European languages most particularly, gave Glasgow University, and by reflection the country, a distinction.
“It made it a place to be recommended everywhere.”
He warned: “It is on its way out, it will be gone.” (Source: BBC News)
Official letters will now be sent by the committee to Glasgow University and the Scottish government to ask what can be done about the decline.
Are you learning one of the “lesser taught” languages?
Posted on August 28th, 2010by Michelle
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Reading the latest issue of Lonely Planet magazine, I came across a short piece on the Esperanto Trail in Poland.
Ludwig Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, was born in the city of Bialystok, northeast Poland, and the newly launched Esperanto Trail visits aspects of his life including his birthplace. Some train timetables at Bialystok station are even written in Esperanto.
The trail is part of the wider Culture Trail, which includes Bialystock Esperanto Centre. Bialystock is a place where many different languages and cultures meet, and this may have influenced Zamenhof’s dream to create a ‘universal’ language.
This dream was never fulfilled – as evidenced by the Trail’s signage, which is in Polish, Esperanto and English.