stella_jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 while checking my daily facts of the textperts i see that Spanish is the third most popular language in the world and tipped to replace English as the second most popular in the next 20 years or so. so why do they still teach only German (10th) and french (not in the top 10) at school? also how many languages do you speak? who is JKB's best linguist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redm Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 while checking my daily facts of the textperts i see that Spanish is the third most popular language in the world and tipped to replace English as the second most popular in the next 20 years or so. so why do they still teach only German (10th) and french (not in the top 10) at school? also how many languages do you speak? who is JKB's best linguist? Bah, Texperts are rubbish. AQA are the way forward.... I've never understood why Spanish isn't taught more widely. I was fortunate enough to be at a school where it was one of the options for Standard Grade so I did French and Spanish then again at Higher and CSYS. As a result, I could speak them pretty well by the time I left and then a few years of studying them again at Uni (and picking up Portuguese) helped me keep them in my noggin for a little longer. Unfortunately, my job doesn't require me to use them so I pretty much instantly forgot anything I'd learned in Portuguese and although I can still speak and read Spanish and French, I find it difficult to understand as much when I hear it. My vocabulary is a bit sketchy and my grammar can be odd because my tenses have gone all to pot. I keep meaning to do a refresher course but still haven't gotten around to doing it so for the meantime, I'll just have to rely on using them when I'm abroad. It gets you some free drinks sometimes. Hehe. I wish they did teach Spanish more often, it's a gorgeous language. Definitely my favourite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stella_jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 whats aqa? txtperts have done me well, i got the unlimetd questions deal and they got 70in one drunken night. my sister picked it up at a higher but i just dont have the urge to learn a language, at its just pure lazyness. I can get most of what i need when im away by pointing. Did meet a american on my travels who was surprised they speak american in england (i didnt even bother to go into the fact im not english) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redm Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 70 in one night? That's impressive. I work for AQA who basically do the same sort of thing as Texperts (63336 if you want a shot). How much do you pay for unlimited questions?! I guess the reason why people here don't learn so many foreign languages is because it's so easy to get by without them. Almost anywhere you go, people speak English. I was on holiday one year and met people from Finland and their kids amazed me, they were about 8 & 10 years old...spoke perfect English and could also yap away in about five other European languages. Apparently it's the norm there. A friend of mine was telling me that her wee one was learning French in primary school though. Don't think they do it for hours each day or anything but she's learning the very basics which is a great idea. Kids pick these things up so quickly and by the time she gets to high school she'll have no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stella_jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 ill give them a shot, is it just the quid an answer? i think it was about ?4 a week so i got my moneys worth. Even phoned the pub i was in to get the answer to my question, quite imprssed by that. I kinda agree, most people will know a little english these days. Gotta agree its much easier to pick up a language when your younger, and that cant be a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamboj Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Having met a great number of foreign people over the last year or so I can safely say that the lack of language teaching here does us no favours with them. You'll find that most people from the continent and especially scandinavia will have a decent grasp of at least one other language and the fact that we dont gets us branded as lazy or arrogant. Personally it really bugs me that we weren't/aren't pushed harder with languages from early school and the way its taught sure as hell doesn't help matters. Language teaching at school from my experience was dull as hell and filled with endless tests. Since then I've picked up some Spanish and enjoy learning, why it cant be like that in school i'll never know. Its something which needs fixing badly here. Scandinavia isn't that far away, lets just ask them how they do it. The other thing with learning Spanish is that it is very similar to other romance languages, especially italian. I was out with two spaniards and an italian this week and they could talk to each other in their own languages and be understood, none of them had studied the other language at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooperstar Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 edit see post below* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughesie27 Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 The persona languages are given in school means that kids don't want to learn. Get bored and can't be bothered. The country has the attitude that 'I will never use it so why bother?' It's not something that can't be changed though. In primary we got it for an hour a week. Basic, numbers, colours. Je m'appelle Steven comment t'appele tu? Ca va? comme ci comme ca. Then in secondary we got it for 3 hours a week. At Standard grade you either choose French or German and that is 4 hours a week. I got a '1' at SG for french but hated it and dropped it at the first chance I got. I realise now that it's valuable but I would still rather speak Spannish. That is wwhere us brits go on holiday every year. Most languages, portugese, italian, are also a variation of spannish. After 2 years without french in my day to day life it's a bit rusty but I could read it with little bother jsut the speaking and especially listening is the problem. Je pense que le francais c'est tres tres ennuyeux mais j'aime a confirmer linguistiques. Hope that made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunrigLovinJambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Not sure if Spanish is going to be a widely spoken as English, but it's definitely one of the top three with Chinese and English. It's a shame that schools don't offer a more varied language program but hughesie is also right by saying in schools, no one cares about learning a foreign language. It comes across boring and most people I knew HATED learning languages, especially French. French is a good language to learn on the business side of things, maybe that's why it's still popular here in Scotland? I'm at University learning German and Spanish. I've been learning German for about five years but I had two 1year breaks in between, but now learning it constantly, I'm starting to get pretty good. Spanish is from scratch and it's difficult but I'm managing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portobellojambo1 Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I work for AQA (63336 if you want a shot) Redm, I have a mobile, but it is very mobile, in that I am not sure of its exact location at the moment, lying about somewhere and I will come across it eventually, probably unexpectedly. So I hope you do not mind me testing your knowledge on-line, this is your big chance. Question - Who will be our manager next season, and which league position will we finish in. As for the languages, I can speak French, a bit of German, understand a little bit of Gaelic, anything else can be worked out via online translators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorgiewave Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 [quote name=redm;57849 I've never understood why Spanish isn't taught more widely. I wish they did teach Spanish more often' date=' it's a gorgeous language. Definitely my favourite. [/quote] Yo tampoco, y totalmente de acuerdo con lo que dices del espa?ol. I think it has something to do with politics. During the Cold War Germany was more important than it is now and I think that has a lot to with its declining popularity. Spanish?s importance increasing because of the number of speakers in America (more native speakers than English but fewer in total). I was taught German in English and here in Spain they are taught English in Spanish (in schools, not in the academies where I work). It might have a lot to do with what teacher have learnt - if the number of people studying Spanish has caught up with the fashion and interest. I am planning on starting tyo learn Chinese in Spain and go there in a year. Pretty embarrassing in Rotterdam where the locals spoke perfect English and I knew about 2 words of Dutch. se oye este refr?n... Qu? viva Espana http://www.wordreference.com http://www.studyspanish.com http://www.easyjet.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Harris Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Spanish is a great language, It is a shame that it is basically ignored in our schools. Not only is it relatively close to its latin roots and therefore provides a good basis for studying any Romance language it is also very widely spoken in its own right. I'm fortunate that I learnt Spanish from birth having spent my early years in Latin America, I think if I hadn't I wouldn't have any interest in languages. The way the French was taught in High School over here was exceedingly boring and it's no wonder it turns most of the pupils off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalamazoo Jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I an fluent in both English and American. I also know one word in Swahili. I studied French at school but am extremely rusty. I'm planning to learn some Spanish; I have dealings with quite a few Spanish speakers at work, and, while their English may not be perfect, it puts my language skills to shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redm Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Redm, I have a mobile, but it is very mobile, in that I am not sure of its exact location at the moment, lying about somewhere and I will come across it eventually, probably unexpectedly. So I hope you do not mind me testing your knowledge on-line, this is your big chance. Question - Who will be our manager next season, and which league position will we finish in. As for the languages, I can speak French, a bit of German, understand a little bit of Gaelic, anything else can be worked out via online translators. You have no idea how many questions we get like that, especially during the transfer window. That's one of the reasons I haven't done any work for them in the past 2 weeks because everytime I log on, the questions are either all 'who will arsenal sign?' or 'does gary evans from newport fancy me or is he after my friend jenny?'...ARGH. But, once you've been allocated you have to answer it..so...here you go: "AQA thinks Hearts will have a dreamteam management duo of Mourinho & Wayne Foster next season. They will win the SPL by a clear 15 points." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltese jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Having met a great number of foreign people over the last year or so I can safely say that the lack of language teaching here does us no favours with them. You'll find that most people from the continent and especially scandinavia will have a decent grasp of at least one other language and the fact that we dont gets us branded as lazy or arrogant. Personally it really bugs me that we weren't/aren't pushed harder with languages from early school and the way its taught sure as hell doesn't help matters. Language teaching at school from my experience was dull as hell and filled with endless tests. Since then I've picked up some Spanish and enjoy learning, why it cant be like that in school i'll never know. Its something which needs fixing badly here. Scandinavia isn't that far away, lets just ask them how they do it. The other thing with learning Spanish is that it is very similar to other romance languages, especially italian. I was out with two spaniards and an italian this week and they could talk to each other in their own languages and be understood, none of them had studied the other language at all. Spot on, I was lucky enough at primary and secondary school to have very good Italian teachers who genuinley wanted their students to do well and did everything they could to help us learn. I think the problem for British children is pure and simply the fact that their lazier than Europeans; plus theres not the need for them to learn a language, because English (currently) is so widely spoken. However, it seems Spannish and indeed Chinese will grow and it should be right now that schools are preparing for this by adapting their curriculum to include more languages....but of course they aren't. P.S. my languages are: English, Maltese, Arabic, Italian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Some people seem more able to pick up languages. Also once you have learnt one the others seem to come more easily. My father in law is fluent in arabic, english, spanish, french and norwegian. He can also quite happily get by in italian and german. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuppetMaster Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I an fluent in both English and American. I also know one word in Swahili. I studied French at school but am extremely rusty. I'm planning to learn some Spanish; I have dealings with quite a few Spanish speakers at work, and, while their English may not be perfect, it puts my language skills to shame. There is still a language barrier between you and the American's...so I wouldn't go around telling everyone you speak American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 There is still a language barrier between you and the American's...so I wouldn't go around telling everyone you speak American. Not another domestic:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalamazoo Jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 There is still a language barrier between you and the American's...so I wouldn't go around telling everyone you speak American. That is like soooo not cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuppetMaster Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 That is like soooo not cool But I HEARTS! Does that just make you melt...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 There is still a language barrier between you and the American's...so I wouldn't go around telling everyone you speak American. But I HEARTS! Does that just make you melt...??? Can you 2 not get a room, or are you both sitting in bed together with your lap tops talking to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Gordons Gloves Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I an fluent in both English and American. I also . i've been here for 18 months and i think i'm getting there with learning American. In the meantime, there are a few hundred people who are finding it a real battle to learn scottish. One word seems to get them every time - Cheeky. And then try and work out a way to explain what cheeky means - it's um like, erm, uh cheeky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalamazoo Jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Can you 2 not get a room, or are you both sitting in bed together with your lap tops talking to each other. No, and no. Thanks for caring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalamazoo Jambo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 One word seems to get them every time - Cheeky. I gave up on trying to explain that one to my work colleagues. They can't pronounce it and I can't explain it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuppetMaster Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Can you 2 not get a room, or are you both sitting in bed together with your lap tops talking to each other. I WISH we were in bed together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I WISH we were in bed together... I'm not sure I want to know any more. Night night wherever you both are;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Weathers Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Foreigners should be made to learn English IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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