Foreign languages to be taught to 7 year olds.

garinda · 10-06-2012, 08:37

There are apparently moves to once again concentrate on spelling, and grammar in our primary schools.

A wise move, in my opinion.

Creativity is all well and good, but you need to know the basic rules, before letting your imagination run riot.

It's also suggested that the teaching of foreign languages will become compulsary, and taught in all state primaries.

Foreign languages to be compulsory from age seven - Telegraph

After recent stories in the press, about some schools where pupils spoke thirty one different languages, perhaps the foreign language they are taught might be English.

With these moves away from the wooly-minded liberalism that started in the education system in the sixties, who knows, they might just start teaching children once again that there is such a thing as failure, and not everyone is a winner.

Which will reflect what the real world is like, once you leave the cosseted environment of education.

The coalition government haven't got much right so far, but in this case, it does seem a move in the right direction.

garinda · 10-06-2012, 08:43

Any mistakes made in the opening post, are a result of the wooly-minded, liberalist education I received, at the state primary school I attended.

So please don't bother pointing them out.

jaysay · 10-06-2012, 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Any mistakes made in the opening post, are a result of the wooly-minded, liberalist education I received, at the state primary school I attended.

So please don't bother pointing them out.

Wouldn't dream of it I was educated in the same system and it failed me too

DaveinGermany · 10-06-2012, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysay

Wouldn't dream of it I was educated in the same system and it failed me too

No Jay, you already speak a foreign language !

And English is almost your second mate.

maxthecollie · 10-06-2012, 16:32

My wife sat down on Friday afternoon with our 7 year old grandchild. they were both writing a short story. On completition my wife handed her story to the young un. The young un then proceeded to mark it with a red pencil quoting " Grandma you have not put any commas , full stops or Capital letters in" then gave her a mark of 1 out of 10 for effort.

yerself · 10-06-2012, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Any mistakes made in the opening post, are a result of the wooly-minded, liberalist education I received, at the state primary school I attended.

Liar. You've been using jaysay's spell checker.

jaysay · 10-06-2012, 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

No Jay, you already speak a foreign language !

And English is almost your second mate.

Na its a long way off mate

jaysay · 10-06-2012, 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by yerself

Liar. You've been using jaysay's spell checker.

Keep trying to tell ya there's nout wrong with the spell checker, mind you I do make an attempt unlike some

mobertol · 10-06-2012, 22:27

The basics are necessary building blocks for all subjects - these days too many kids cut and paste from the computer and don't learn anything in depth. Some can't even write long-hand which is a shame as writing things down is one of the best ways of actually learning them. Spelling etc are a necessary evil on the route to literacy.

Young children have an amazing capacity for learning languages - the sooner they start the better. I have taught English to nursery school kids in Italy and they can repeat and learn things far better than older children - they have no preconceptions about pronunciation and repeat what they hear...Lancashire accents came back at me from them, not a trace of Italian

So I think the sooner they start the better.

In my day it was French -these days what would be the ideal second language? I do "get" the quips about English as a second language in England these days! Not just for those born of parents from outside Britain either, as far as I'm concerned -many with British parents can't speak the Queen's English either- not helped by much of what is broadcast on TV these days which is truly cringe-worthy! I think personally that Spanish is a good option as is so widely spoken and is similar to Italian and French in structure, though the way Europe is going perhaps we'll all need German (odious language in my opinion - so harsh sounding!)

jaysay · 11-06-2012, 08:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobertol

The basics are necessary building blocks for all subjects - these days too many kids cut and paste from the computer and don't learn anything in depth. Some can't even write long-hand which is a shame as writing things down is one of the best ways of actually learning them. Spelling etc are a necessary evil on the route to literacy.

Young children have an amazing capacity for learning languages - the sooner they start the better. I have taught English to nursery school kids in Italy and they can repeat and learn things far better than older children - they have no preconceptions about pronunciation and repeat what they hear...Lancashire accents came back at me from them, not a trace of Italian

So I think the sooner they start the better.

In my day it was French -these days what would be the ideal second language? I do "get" the quips about English as a second language in England these days! Not just for those born of parents from outside Britain either, as far as I'm concerned -many with British parents can't speak the Queen's English either- not helped by much of what is broadcast on TV these days which is truly cringe-worthy! I think personally that Spanish is a good option as is so widely spoken and is similar to Italian and French in structure, though the way Europe is going perhaps we'll all need German (odious language in my opinion - so harsh sounding!)

I have 2 grandsons, aged 5 and 8 Di the eldest speaks Vietnamese Chinese and English fluently, the youngest Chinese and English and a little Vietnamese, oh and by the way their mother only speaks English