Posted 5 Feb 2022 Via a friend on social media - hopefully this is an appropriate place to post this. It's many years ago now, but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to study German at school, at O and A Level (and in fact S Level, if I remember correctly!) Languages, and particularly German, have been declining in schools for years. It has been particularly concerning to read the discussions in the German Teachers FB group over the last few days about the sheer number of schools, particularly in the state sector, that are now stopping teaching German altogether. This is occurring at a time when the UK has a languages deficit that costs the economy up to £48 billion annually. German is repeatedly cited by business leaders as the most needed language among their employees; it is also the language that is in highest demand across job postings in the UK; and studies have shown that German is more likely to get you a higher paid job than other other languages. Beyond these simple economic reasons, there are many reasons why UK students should have the opportunity to learn German. Language learning develops communication skills, intercultural competence, and an awareness of one's place in the wider world. It fosters creativity and problem-solving, and teaches empathy and resilience. Denying all this to a whole generation of teenagers is nothing short of scandalous. A group of teachers in the UK has begun to lobby MPs to support German teaching in schools and has created this petition as a first step. Please consider signing! https://www.change.org/p/nadhim-zahawi-reverse-the-decline-in-uk-schools-offering-german-as-a-mfl 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Feb 2022 Quote In December of 2021 the press in Germany reported that hardly any pupils in Great Britain want to learn German anymore. This will be a consequence of Brexit. If you are not going to travel outside the UK (apart from vacation in Spain) why waste time learning a foreign language? The last time we visited the UK (April 2019) my wife & I had a guided tour of my old school. Back then it was a "Direct Grant" Grammar School, now private (and expensive). School has grown since I was there & also become co-educational. Amongst other departments we visited the German language centre. There the head of languages was bemoaning the reduced interest in German & French, in particular lack of interest in the annual exchange visit with a school in Schleswig-Holstein. She was saying the German side could fill their visit quota twice-over. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Feb 2022 The Brits should learn Polish, Hindi, Urdu, and other relevant languages spoken by people who live in the UK. Cantonese and Spanish are also good options. No need for German. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Feb 2022 17 hours ago, john_b said: Via a friend on social media - hopefully this is an appropriate place to post this. It's many years ago now, but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to study German at school, at O and A Level (and in fact S Level, if I remember correctly!) Languages, and particularly German, have been declining in schools for years. It has been particularly concerning to read the discussions in the German Teachers FB group over the last few days about the sheer number of schools, particularly in the state sector, that are now stopping teaching German altogether. This is occurring at a time when the UK has a languages deficit that costs the economy up to £48 billion annually. German is repeatedly cited by business leaders as the most needed language among their employees; it is also the language that is in highest demand across job postings in the UK; and studies have shown that German is more likely to get you a higher paid job than other other languages. Beyond these simple economic reasons, there are many reasons why UK students should have the opportunity to learn German. Language learning develops communication skills, intercultural competence, and an awareness of one's place in the wider world. It fosters creativity and problem-solving, and teaches empathy and resilience. Denying all this to a whole generation of teenagers is nothing short of scandalous. A group of teachers in the UK has begun to lobby MPs to support German teaching in schools and has created this petition as a first step. Please consider signing! https://www.change.org/p/nadhim-zahawi-reverse-the-decline-in-uk-schools-offering-german-as-a-mfl I have tried to sign the petition but , for some reason , my email address was considered invalid. Dunno why- because it's a German one?😒 The sheer irony of it if that is the case.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Feb 2022 11 minutes ago, yourkeau said: The Brits should learn Polish, Hindi, Urdu, and other relevant languages spoken by people who live in the UK. Cantonese and Spanish are also good options. No need for German. Quote German is repeatedly cited by business leaders as the most needed language among their employees; it is also the language that is in highest demand across job postings in the UK; and studies have shown that German is more likely to get you a higher paid job than other other languages. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Feb 2022 Perhaps we should just accept that our language has 'won'? If the motivation is making more money by doing more manufacturing and trade, using more resources, I shall NOT be signing! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Feb 2022 Modern Language teaching has been declining in the UK for decades, nothing to do with Brexit. Knowing Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees Morgue, I fully expext a resufgence of Latin and Ancient Greek 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Feb 2022 19 hours ago, HEM said: Better start learning Chinese. Well, there are schools who offer Chinese already, but it's really hard by comparison to the Latin based languages for a typical European. In the end it's about economic co-operation, ties between countries and how close they are physically to one another. With brexit, I suspect all EU language teaching will decline and sure some of it will be replaced with the languages from growing economies. China has the second largest world economy and many predict will surpass the USA at some point in the next decade or two. Germany has the largest economy in the EU, but given France is next door, I can't ever see it being more than a second language most people learn, assuming they even get a choice. I didn't at schoool for example. Everyone had to learn French and only the top French students were allowed to study another language. I'd have preferred to have been taught German rather than French, but the state system of that time didn't offer such a choice. Was interesting that a friend of mine has a daughter. Post soviet era no one wanted to learn Russian, as it was force upon them. However, as a tour guide she noticed she got much better tips from Russians than anyone else, so really improved her language skills and did much, much better as a result. It's a question of the relevance of another language. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Feb 2022 The missus can speak Chinese (Cantonese) and Putonghua (Mandarin) to a certain extent, it's English she has a problem with 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
