Drop French, Says Heads And Teach Urdu Instead

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 6-2-2002 | Macer Hall

[blam]

Drop French, say heads and teach Urdu instead

By Macer Hall, Education Correspondent
(Filed: 02/06/2002)

Head teachers will this week call for schools to teach African and Asian languages instead of French and German in a reform designed to reflect the "ethnic mix" of the British population.

At its annual conference in Torquay, the National Association of Head Teachers will discuss giving African languages, including Somali and Hausa, the same importance as the main European tongues. The head teachers also suggest that Albanian, Punjabi and Urdu be added to the curriculum.

They say that expanding the teaching of such languages will benefit all pupils, but in particular those from the ethnic minorities, and enable them to study for a wider range of language qualifications.

Last night Nick Seaton, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, a parents' pressure group, expressed fears that the change could be counterproductive.

"I would have thought that youngsters would be better off spending their time learning English, most importantly, and then other European languages," he said. "There is little enough time in the school day as it is. That time should be spent learning something useful."

The NAHT motion calls on the Government "to promote the status of Asian and African languages and to encourage their study as a qualification in addition to or instead of languages of European origin".

Tim Benson, the head teacher of Nelson Primary School in east London, who will propose the change, said: "In schools like mine many of the children are speaking and learning English as their second, third or even fourth language.

"The assessment system in this country just does not recognise those achievements. It would be very good for the child's self-esteem if they could be assessed in their own language."

The languages spoken by his school's 865 pupils include Punjabi, Urdu and the southern Nigerian tongue Urhobo. Recently, a number of Albanian-speaking children from Kosovo had also joined the school.

"If I had 100 pupils and 80 of them were speaking French, then my school would be heralded as a great success. Because my children are speaking Urhobo, Punjabi, or whatever it might be, that is not the case," he added.

Secondary schools are required to teach a foreign language until the age of 14, with most opting for French, German or Spanish. Individual schools, at both primary and secondary level, are free to offer other languages if they wish. Supporters of the proposed change say that in future pupils should be able to study African and Asian languages at GCSE, AS and A-level.

Last night the proposal was backed by education groups that advise the Government on education policy. Steven Fawkes, the president-elect of the Association for Language Learning, said: "There should be equality between the languages. We want to get away from just learning French at school. People who come to this country find that their foreign language skills are not valued."

Alwena Lamping, the co-ordinator of the Nuffield Languages Programme, said: "Businesses are short of people with eastern language skills but nobody seems to put the two together."

English is an additional tongue for 607,345 pupils, just under nine per cent of the country's schoolchildren, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education.

Some examination boards offer GCSE, AS and A-level exams in non-European languages, among them Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Persian, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu, but not African languages. About 10,000 students each year sit GCSE examinations in Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati and Bengali.

An official for the Department for Education said that the head teachers' proposal would be "looked at" if it was formally submitted to the Government.

He added, however, that the idea might prove unpalatable for some staff: "At the same time as this, head teachers are calling for smaller workloads for teachers - but this idea would only increase their work."

[blam]

Europeans are determined to 'erase' themselves.

[Diogenesis]

Great idea. They should use Ebonic-urdu.

Then they be workin' on cuttin' those silly numbers.

[kitkat]

Blam, you said it and it only took you six words. I'll have to use a few more.

***People who come to this country find that their foreign language skills are not valued."***

Alwena Lamping, the co-ordinator of the Nuffield Languages Programme, said: "Businesses are short of people with eastern language skills but nobody seems to put the two together."

Do those two sentences seem to contradict each other?

I wish I could make a phone call to a business office and get someone who speaks MY language. English. Charming old language, whatever became of it?

[Celtjew Libertarian]

You should have to learn English first in any English-speaking nation. But, after that, I see no reason why any language, especially if it has its own literature, is better or worse than another. Heck, the way things are going these days, Russian and Urdu are likely to be more useful languages than French.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Europeans are determined to 'erase' themselves

I wish the French, at least, would get on with it, already.

[bloggerjohn]

I'm all for dropping French.

They don't really like us, you know.

But I would suggest PHP or C++ instead of Urdu, as being more useful.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

But I would suggest PHP or C++ instead of Urdu, as being more useful.

Depends on if you want to be able to write the program or talk to the programmer. 8>)

[mamelukesabre]

If they wanted to teach one of the various forms of arabic, I might see their point. But teaching Urdu is just stupid.

[widgysoft]

Not when its a lovely socialist government!! </sarcasm>

[McGavin999]

Oh yes, it will really come in handy when you're trying to read those great classics written in the native language. You know, like.........hmmmm.........

[Eala]

Head teachers will this week call for schools to teach African and Asian languages instead of French and German in a reform designed to reflect the "ethnic mix" of the British population.

If they really wanted reflect the "ethnic mix" better, and absolve themselves for some of their imperial guilt into the bargain, they'd be calling for the schools to teach Ga\idhlig (Scottish Gaelic) instead of suppressing it. (Well, okay, the active suppression is largely over now that the language is at risk of disappearing, but...) But I guess the fact that Gaelic-speakers are white Europeans doesn't make them sufficiently politically correct.

Suas leis a' Gha\idhlig!

[jimtorr]

Strangely enough, Scottish Gaelic was offered at Foothill Junior College, in Los Altos Hills, CA, when I was taking Chinese Mandarin five years ago. There are lots of what I call scottish "groupies" in central CA. I'm one. I developed a taste for Scottish music and culture when I was there ten years ago after I discovered that my family (on both sides) originated in Scotland.

[blam]

Geez...I remember when they built that college.

[Arkinsaw]

Yeah, Albanian is going to be a really useful language to learn. Here are some good first phrases to learn.

"Sir, my I hitch a ride on your donkey cart?"
"Which way to the latrine hole?"
"How much for the plate of dirt?"
"I will trade this rock for a handful of grass."

[Myrddin]

The immigrants need to be taught English language and English culture so that can be productive members of that society. If they don't want that, they should see a travel agent and return to a place that features the language and culture they prefer. I applaud the French for trying to maintain their language and culture as well. Ditto for the Welsh. It is a colossal error to allow immigrants to arrive in your nation and attempt to overthrow the language and culture. The U.S. seems bent on that stupidity with the Mexican invasion in the southwest.

Teaching French and German as "foreign" languages has value to the English and the immigrants. Scientific papers and quality literature are written on those languages. Is Urdu or any of the African languages referenced in the article in common use in the scientific community, arts or literature? I suspect not. The only purpose for teaching those languages is to placate the foreign invasion and permit balkanization of the country.

[Myrddin]

I've been trying to learn Welsh for 10 years. I can read it and speak it to a limited degree. It is hard to make any serious progress when my only opportunities to interact with a Welsh speaker occur during a few days of vacation. That hasn't happened since April '99. At least the Welsh are trying to keep the language alive. They count over 500,000 speakers today. The Scots may very well lose the language if they don't make an effort. I think the Irish will be able to hold their own. They aren't as heavily infiltrated with speakers of other languages as those on the island co-habited by England, Wales and Scotland.

[altair]

the way things are going these days, Russian and Urdu are likely to be more useful languages than French.

I fail to see the importance of Urdu. Is Urdu spoken anywhere other than Pakistan? Russian is probably more useful than French and I would think Chinese also more important than French.

[bescobar]

Oh, I thought the post said drop kick France...never mind

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I suspect that India is going to be one of the next hotspots for business and a major ally of the U.S. this century. Assuming Urdu is the dialect of India to learn for this -- and I could be wrong with regard to that -- I'd say it's more useful language to learn than French.

[Snuffington]

Assuming Urdu is the dialect of India to learn for this -- and I could be wrong with regard to that -- I'd say it's more useful language to learn than French.

There are literally hundreds of languages in India. People from different parts of India generally cannot communicate with each other in a native Indian language, because they're unlikely to speak the same one. The only language used nationwide is English.