19th March 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A study conducted by the European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC) recently tested teenagers in 14 different countries on their ability to speak the first foreign language that was taught to them in school. For English pupils, this was French and their skills in reading, listening and writing tests were ranked at the bottom.
These results suggest that secondary school pupils are falling behind in their linguistic abilities in comparison to their European peers. Those who performed highest overall were pupils in Sweden, the Netherlands and Malta. However, French pupils whose English skills were tested also performed poorly coming second to the bottom in all three disciplines of reading, writing and listening.
It was shown that a mere 11% of secondary school pupils in this study were considered to be ‘independent users’ in French writing. Moreover, only 9.2% were ranked in the highest category for French reading. However, last year the government announced that it will be compulsory for all primary school children to learn a language from the age of seven from next year which could effect a change in these results.
According to the British Academy, a ‘vicious circle of monolinguailism’ is forming in the UK that is causing British employers to ‘sidestep language issues’, thus resulting in a removal of incentive for new language students. The survey also discovered that the current teaching of French, German and Spanish is too narrow to satisfy the business needs within the global economy. As the UK diversifies its global connections, it must also conquer a growing number of languages including Arabic, Polish and Mandarin.