Michael Hofmann in his latest article for “The
Observer” raised quite an interesting issue of language learning. He describes
the situation in the UK where 14-year-olds can decide whether they want to take
modern language classes and later presents the results – a dramatic decrease in foreign
language competence among the British teenagers.
To tell the truth, what is amazing is not
students’ choice, but the government’s decision to give them an option to quit
modern language classes. As young people are usually not keen on studying at
all, no wonder they don’t crave for memorizing new grammar rules, practicing
pronunciation or translating boring sentences, as they see language learning. They
are not mature enough to realize that a foreign language is of great benefit
for them as it enables them to communicate with foreigners, facilitates
discovering different cultures and finally, it opens doors in their future
careers. Therefore, this is where the British government has made a mistake. They
have given the youngsters a free hand, at the same time theoretically depriving them of the fantastic experience which surely foreign language learning is.
I, personally, cannot imagine myself knowing only Polish language. Although I have taken many language classes in my life: English, German, Spanish and French, only the first of them was the one that I fell in love with. :-) Certainly, I have always had an aptitude for English, but also I had a good motivation from my parents and teachers, which pushed me going. And now, on the finish of my English Philology studies, what I can say about all the effort I have put into developing my language skills: it was worth it!
