According to this BBC article there is concern about the lack of foreign language skills in the UK. (I had better start getting active on LingQ again…)
"A YouGov poll of more than 4,000 UK adults found that three-quarters (75%) were unable to speak any of the 10 languages well enough to hold a conversation. "
I find it unlikely that 25% of UK adults could speak a foreign language well enough to hold a conversation. Maybe they can have a Benny conversation.
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If we are going to be quite honest: how many English natives actually need to say even one single word in a foreign language…?
I’m sure that those of us who have spent time in various European countries all have stories about fellow English speakers who have spent X number of years living there, yet who couldn’t even order a beer in the local language! Well, if a monoglot lifestyle is a viable option for folks living overseas, how much less does the person who never sets foot physically outside of the Anglosphere have any need to invest time and energy in learning a foreign language!? :-0
Sure there are some people with specialist professional or research interests who really do need a foreign language, but I’d say that they (we?) are pretty few and far between…actually…
Most English-speaking people don’t need to learn a foreign language. In fact most people everywhere don’t need to learn a foreign language. However, the rewards of learning a foreign language can be enormous.
Many of these hand ringing complaints about the lack of foreign language skills are promoted by the language teaching establishment, who are trying to get more funding for language instruction. The article quoted here from the BBC originates with the British Council.
The issue to me is rather how to make language learning more attractive to people. This means providing more choice, making it more interesting and getting away from tedious classroom instruction.
An example of the mindset of some teachers is an approach called Task Based Language Teaching. This, I was told by the Canadian government when I approached them to offer LingQ to immigrants, is the only teaching method that the Canadian government will fund for immigrant language learning. They refused to even make immigrants aware of LingQ as an option. “Everyone must learn the same way!” seems to be the message. To be fair, government language instruction is controlled by the teaching establishment, and politicians are generally lothe to take on their own bureaucrats.
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What do expats do for a living? Every job I ever had here in Berlin (<-international city) required me to speak german…
Construction work:
My co-workers spoke German.
Secretary in a property management agency:
90% of our business partners were German, which is why we did business in German.^^
That´s the only job I ever had where speaking English was necessary, by the way.
Actor in a theater:
The plays were in German.
Story clerk in a bakery:
All of my clients spoke German.
Janitor in a supermarket:
I never said a single word of English when I had that job.
Working for a parcel service:
Once again, only German.
Another job I had involved reading 18th century German…once again, no English. ^^
Besides that, I speak German when I hang out with my family, some of my friends don´t speak English fluenty and those who do prefer to speak German anyway.
I could stop speaking German today and I´d still be able to survive, but I think the only advantage of doing so would be…well…improving my English. ^^
PS:
Personally, I think that learning the local language shows that you respect the country you live in. Most people feel more comfortable speaking their native language. Expecting them to make an effort to speak your language is quite selfish, in my opinion.
Nobody has said that not knowing the local language is not an advantage for a lot of people. Of course it is an advantage, especially for somebody looking for a job.
@ Paule
Learning a new language is a gigantic amount of effort, and requires sacrificing a huge amount of one’s time. How much respect are people meant to show?
I had to study English for 8 years in school, in Germany.
Why is it too much to ask somebody who moves to Germany to learn German?
Your wording is quite intense, by the way…^^
“a gigantic amount of effort, and requires sacrificing a huge amount of one’s time”
I was able to survive in France without ever speaking English after studying French for about 1000 hours. Most of that time consisted of playing videogames and watching movies. I´d never use words like “sacrificing” to describe that experience.
I don’t think my wording was intense. I just think it is realistic. Think about the 1000 hours that you spent learning French. In one year, that corresponds to almost three hours of study a day. The is a huge amount of time and effort and probably won’t even lead to the level of fluency that most people would aim for. Most people don’t enjoy learning languages and don’t want to put in the time and effort to do it, so this time is sacrificed for them. So how much effort and time are people supposed to sacrifice out of respect?
@Colin: “…Most people don’t enjoy learning languages…”
I think that’s the problem: most people are lazy scroats at heart. Even in Germany, if youngsters in schools were given a free choice whether or not to learn English, Latin, etc, I reckon quite a few of them would opt for something softer! :-0
If someone lives abroad they really should make the effort to learn the local language, IMO. But it has to be, so to speak, ‘a two-way road’. If somebody lived in Norway (just for example) it might be darned hard finding anyone who actually would speak Norwegian with a foreign dude…so what could the expat do other than speak English?
“So how much effort and time are people supposed to sacrifice out of respect?”
I said "Personally, I think that learning the local language shows that you respect the country you live in. "
I did not say “Showing respect is the ONLY reason to learn the local language”.
“Even in Germany, if youngsters in schools were given a free choice whether or not to learn English, Latin, etc, I reckon quite a few of them would opt for something softer! :-0”
Indeed. ^^
“it might be darned hard finding anyone who actually would speak Norwegian with a foreign dude…so what could the expat do other than speak English?”
I´m sure someone would agree to have a conversation in Norwegian you.^^
I guess there are two main reasons why people start speaking English when they meet foreigners…
- They want to practice English. In that case you can suggest a language exchange. If that person is not interested in an exchange, look for someone else. ^^
- They want to be polite. In that case, saying something like “I want to learn your language so I can better integrate into society, would you pleassse speak Norwegian?” and most people will say “Oh, that´s cool!” and speak Norwegian.
The higher your level already is, the easier it is to convince people.
"@Colin: “…Most people don’t enjoy learning languages…”
Most people don´t enjoy speaking English. Are you suggesting that the locals should make an effort and speak the language of another country, instead of a foreigner making the effort to speak the local language?
Most people don’t enjoy speaking English? Nah… that’s not my experience in Europe. They love to practice their English. And Switzerland really loves English. Hell… I would say a good 25% of the advertisements here are in English or have some “trendy” English phrases on them. Plus, English pop culture is everywhere. All I hear is American/British music.
As for making the effort… depends. If you want to go to a bar, the park, a community event, etc and talk with random people… I think the locals should speak whatever they want.
But if they’re trying to get your money… that’s another story. People that want to sell you something will find a way to communicate.
“Your wording is quite intense, by the way…^^
“a gigantic amount of effort, and requires sacrificing a huge amount of one’s time””
Sacrificing is the word I’d use. Realistically… an English speaker in Europe learning a foreign language really is pretty much a waste of time. If you’re okay with feeling like an idiot sometimes and making “stupid American” mistakes… no problem. English will take you a long long long way in Europe.
Besides, I cannot tell you how true this comic is Itchy Feet: the Travel and Language Comic: Second Mother Tongue
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Well, it´s good to know that europeans are studying English so that people from English speaking countries don´t have to “waste their time”. ^^
I think that would be better stated as: “I’m glad Europeans are studying English so that they can communicate in the defacto international language”
Long time ago the British conquered most of world… and then the Americans joined in in spreading English around the world with pop culture music and movies. I’m sure America’s huge influence on the birth of the Internet helped out too. Simply put, Europeans are learning English because they want to and economically they have to
Also, I think English must be special in some way. I can’t really describe it. Don’t you find it quite strange that English music is EVERYWHERE? There seems to be a musical quality to the language. I don’t think Germans are less creative… but the rest of the world isn’t listening to German music.
BTW, that reminds me… there’s a BBC documentary called “A History of the English Language” – at least I think that’s the name. Very long. 7 hours. But it’s the best doc I’ve seen in a long long time
@patterson
You should visit East-Germany by the way. People over thirty had to learn Russian instead of English and even the majority of young people suck at speaking English.
“Don’t you find it quite strange that English music is EVERYWHERE? There seems to be a musical quality to the language.”
Fast-Food is EVERYWHERE, too. That doesn´t mean that it´s good food. ^^
East-Germany? Well if they can’t speak English… no way in hell I’m going there.
The fast food analogy is funny… but faulty. It’s bedtime. Hopefully someone on the other side of the world completes my argument for me