No, not everyone does speak English, or "Why we all need to learn Chinese"

When you try to convince a Head of Education that (s)he really needs to start teaching more languages in his or her schools, not cut them back, you will await the groans. And when you tell them that the language should be Chinese if we are to take advantage of the world's biggest growing economy and one sixth of the world's population, then the groans become even more audible.

I don't know, honestly, if it really is that much more difficult to learn Chinese, especially when free audio teaching resources like Chinesepod are around, but when I saw this Engrish menu over at BoingBoing my mission became even clearer. Not everyone in our world does speak English. Our destiny may be better - and with less tummy ache - if we make the effort now to reap the rewards later.

Comments

[mpentleton]

I'm curious, Ewan - are you learning Chinese with Chinesepod? You'll know that I'm an avid fan of both Chinesepod and Japanesepod and that at PiE we've been working with Japanesepod on their enhanced podcast.

We've been trying to determine just how practical it would be to introduce some Mandarin Chinese [what is the politically correct term? I was told that one should refer to Mandarin Chinese as "Chinese"] to schools in the west of Scotland, but staffing is impossible. Even with the possibility of Chinese language assistants from the British Council it would be virtually impossible to make strategic changes within the curriculum.

Having spent a fair bit of time this year learning some Japanese I have found that learning a completely new language, writing system and culture has been hugely enlightening. It does you good to think about something completely differently for a while. I've only ever studied European languages and to find something with completely different syntax and structures has been really interesting. I know from listening to ChinesePod that things would be equally interesting, and indeed equally challenging!

[Ewan McIntosh]

I reckon that you've hit it right on the head. It's not that much more difficult than any other learning - it's just very different. And enlightning. I have been trying to learn a little Chinese on my travels with Chinesepod. I should have more to show for the 29,000 miles I've done so far this year, but laptops provide so many distractions!

[don]

I agree with you that we need to try to extend tha range of languages we teach children. Dunbar Grammar school and Knox Academy have had Chinese language assistants this year who have proved to be very popular. Is the future of language teaching in schools perhaps one of enabling children to learn different languages depending upon interest - as opposed to teacher expertise? The logic of which languages we teach in schools seems to be so dependent upon what the teacher studied at University. We have so many kids who want to learn Italian, Spanish, Chinese but have no chance due to lack of expertise in the school. With digital on-line resources and home study could we not develop a different approach towards teaching and learning languages?

[mpentleton]

Don, I'm hoping that through the PiE project within the next session we'll be able to do just that. We're in the process of developing some online introductory courses for a number of languages. These will be accessible through our website and will be available in conjunction with a number of other resources. More info soon on our site.

However, on a more general level, does anyone else feel that the restriction of timetable, availability of staff and unwillingness to step out of the comfort zone of certificated courses in the upper school is making languages in S6 in Scotland a boring, restrictive and sometimes unproductive option? I sometimes feel that so many young people go on and study AH in French, German, Spanish, etc., when they don't really need to do so, and they could benefit so much from resitting Higher. Equally, there is so much to be gained from trying out another language, particular one that could be seen as "more exotic" in S6, and yet so few timetablers are willing to give space to this kind of study. Flexibility? Hmm...

[Ewan McIntosh]

Even as a techy I find the prospect of languages being offered on an e-basis only a little chilling. Language is about communication and, at the end of the day, you need a real person on the end of the internet telephone call, the video conference or email. I've learnt several languages quite well by having a person take me through it, tell me stories and, yes, entertain me. I've barely remembered any of the Chinese I've tried by podcast alone.

It's a mix of the teach and the tech that is potent, not one or the other exclusively.

But Mark sums it up: time. If you want flexible learning you need to give learners time to do it. Timetablers, by their name and their trade, serve only to obstruct true flexibility.

[Don]

As a former timetabler do I qualify for free membership to the STASI? Is it really the fault of timetablers that we have a limited view of a languages curriculum in Scotland? I was driven by a desire to increase flexibility for all students by providing a free choice model (no choice columns or modes of study) This could of course have a negative impact upon the number of pupils taking languages - How will languages in Scottish schools survive if it moves to such a model? Have we sold languages to students or have we become complacent through the compulsory languages for all approach? Will children vote with their feet if given the choice?

[Ewan McIntosh]

They might well vote with their feet. I'll be honest - a lot of the time I'm not sure if I would continue with a language with the unit-by-unit approach many schools have adopted. That's not how I want to learn. I want to see the links between language and my world, the real world outside my door and, importantly, coming through my computer. Today, we have no choice but to offer several ways to learn a language, often simultaneously, and in as individual a way as possible.

I'd love some of my MFL colleagues to jump in at this point with their ideas - it's something that has been mulled over in several fora.

[Karyn Romeis]

I wish I could remember which school it is, but I recently heard an interview with a head teacher from a private school somewhere in the south of England who has introduced compulsory Mandarin Chinese lessons. The parents are said to be fully supportive of the idea. They and the head teacher recognise that China is becoming (has become?) a major player on the world scene and that the pupils are likely to have business dealings with the Chinese in the future. His approach is likely to give these kids a competitive edge. More power to him... and them!

I understand it's not an easy language to learn to speak. Spoken English is very much a consonant-driven language, while I understand that Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese, I'm told) is far more focused on inflection and intonation, which tends to affect vowels. Chinese speakers of English struggle to make themselves understood because of their lack of focus on the consonants. I presume English speakers of Chinese will find that their lack of focus on inflection will be just as much of a barrier.

I wonder what the take-up would be if Chinese were offered in addition to the EU-based French, German and Spanish. I reckon the smart money would go with Chinese - kids with business-savvy parents would be likely to be talked into it at home.

[Ewan McIntosh]

I think that school is in Brighton, but I also know of schools in East Lothian (my Local Authority) and Edinburgh who are teaching Chinese successfully, with some incredibly hard-working assistants.

I'd love Paul Raffaelli to contribute to this actually - he's the Head Teacher at the school in East Lothian where this is going on and he's a linguist, too.

[Lynne Horn]

I came into S4 today from a please take to find the French Assistant (we get him once a fortnight) surrounded by an admiring group of S4s as he dazzled them with some Japanese writing. There was disappointment on their faces as they asked if I could write or speak Japanese and realised I couldn't.

I think Ewan is right, the languages taught are dictated by what languages, language teachers did at school. At a recent RME day with S1/2 I did a session on translation (ie how the Bible was translated) and was helped by a former pupil who had gone on to University to do Arabic - he read out bits of the Qu'ran to them in Arabic and wrote their names in Arabic for them. They were fascinated by some of the Bibles we had which were in languages with an unfamiliar alphabet and the most successful bit of the day was when they typed out messages in hieroglyphics (I have a CD which does this) and then worked out which others meant. It was all a bit different from their usual language learning and they really responded to it.

I would like to harness some of this and try and teach a little in school - if only I knew how!

[Lucy Crichton]

There 's a story on the private school that introduced Chinese on the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4616640.stm

But it was not the first - The Guardian has details of a state school inthe East End of London that started teaching Chinese in 2000. http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,1698082,00.html

In fact there's also a more recent story in the Guardian about how parents in the USA are rushing to sign their kids up to learn Chinese http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/story/0,,1727000,00.html

On the subject the SQA has strong links with China and it is currently conducting a survey of Chinese language teaching - get your comments in!http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/sqa_nu_display.jsp?pContentID=13701&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&

On a personal note I'm heading to China in May for my hols :-). Happy to post my pics on your blog Ewan!

Cheers
Lucy

[Ewan McIntosh]

Definitely! I'll give you the detail to log in as a guest at that time.

[Thea Pallut]

Am really interested in what you have been saying about chinese in schools. I am taking a group of students from my school (Grantown Grammar in the highlands) to China this summer through the British Council to learn mandarin for 2 weeks. We are hoping to then introduce it in the curriculum. Perhaps as an alternative at S3/4 for students wanting to learn a language but not at an exam level, as a club and hopefully in the future with language assistants. We shall see!I definately think we need to teach students other languages. My students who are going this summer are really keen to learn Mandarin. So I think there is the interest and enthusiasm..

[Kirsten Herbst-Gray]

Personally I feel that pupils would understand foreign languages better if they had more confidence in their own language. Maybe some cooperation between the English Department and the Modern Languages Department would be a step in the right direction. Also, a national strategy and updated course material would help. Offering other languages than French, German, Spanish is a good idea - but does it apply to the majority of pupils?

[JT]

It is much better to have Chinese people learn the international language - English. The Chinese language is not good enough for serious business. It lacks definition. It takes years of study to master writing. All time better spent on learning something more valuable.

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