I was really excited when I came across this article because it fits perfectly with everything I’m studying. The English language is becoming more and more of a necessity all over the world. It has become almost a universal second language, and countries on all continents are trying to educate their children so that the new generation can speak English and communicate more easily.
France is one country that is doing everything they can to teach their students to speak English.
According to Kim Willsher of the Guardian Weekly, the French government is enforcing strict rules on the learning of the English language.
“Fearful of losing influence, not to mention business, in an increasingly Anglophone world, French children are to be given “intensive” extra-curricular English lessons during the school holidays.”
The goal of the French government is to make all French students bilingual by the time they graduate. Xavier Darcos, France’s education minister said this month that President Sarkozy has given him permission to “make France a bilingual nation” and he will do what is in his power to reach this goal.
I think that France is taking a big step and that other countries should follow in her lead, including the United States. Learning a second language is something all students should consider. Not only is it needed for business and travel, but also, when you go to a foreign country and show the people of that country that you attempted to learn their language, they will have so much more respect for you than if you just expect them to speak English.
The French are doing everything that they can to learn the English language, and we as future educators should do all that we can to influence our students to pick up a second language as well.
French Admit English Deficit Needs Attention
Kim Willsher of the Guardian Weekly
September 19, 2008
I find your topic and first article very interesting. It is clearly a relevant topic to society and the field of education. I was unaware of France’s hope to make the country’s people bilingual, but like you said I think it is a wise goal. It is only a benefit to yourself to know more than one language today as areas are becoming more diverse. What a great way to start by learning more than one language in school, a place where children can pick up the language at a young age (and possibly retain it better).
The article and ideas you presented made me think of how we in America should try and learn more than one language (other than English). We are greatly influenced by the many diverse cultures around us and therefore it would only be wise and knowledgable to attempt to understand others whom are different than ourselves. I definetly enjoyed your article and look forward to the articles to come!
By: hubbardj87 on September 23, 2008
at 2:55 am
First I have to admit that I am quite surprised about the French government being so persistent about having their nation become bilingual. Also, the fact that it is the English language is what surprised me even more. My notion was that the French were trying to stay away from having too much English language influence. However, I do agree with you when you write of English becoming a universal second language. What I really liked about your post was how you applied the idea of being bilingual to the United States as well. Just because we already know English it doesn’t mean that we can improve ourselves and learn Chinese, Spanish, or Japanese to name a few. I would really like to see more posted on this topic.
By: griffin11 on September 23, 2008
at 1:18 pm
You have some excellent thoughts here.
Learning a second language is valuable for many reasons: it exposes one to a different culture, it is an excellent tool in the business world, and it expands the mind (to name but a few).
I wonder if there are good ways to incorporate second language education into other aspects of curriculum, particularly an English class. Perhaps if students read a story in a variety of languages, or something along that line, students could pick up some vocabulary and grammar in a highly innovative manner. Just some thoughts…
(Also, you might find this entertaining: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/11/09/115-promising-to-learn-a-new-language/)
By: hendricg on December 3, 2008
at 4:33 am