Hi Escapists, my first topic ever, yay!
Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was the language proficiency of different countries around the world, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom. Being a Dane who has lived 6 years of his life in the UK and spent all of that time in school, I was genuinely shocked when I moved back to Denmark and started College just a few months ago: I realised that the standard, run-of-the-mill level of language proficiency in secondary languages (anything but the mother-tongue) is extremely below par in the UK compared to, specifically Denmark, but I assume many other European countries as well.
Now, I got an A in my German GCSE, top of my class, and when I moved back I could barely cope in my new German class as the language proficiency was so much higher overall. This couldn't have been due to a higher level of learning now that we're in College, as the first thing my teacher told us was that 'We're gonna start right from the bottom, and work our way up'. So I was quite shocked when I dropped not a few grades, and I've had to work extremely hard to bring my game up, so to speak.
This wasn't just in German, it was in all languages being studied at the College, and when coupled with the fact that nearly all College level Danes already have a fair grasp of the English language (I can certainly hold an intelligent discussion with them, even if I do lose them sometimes) I am unable to grasp why this is the case, that the students of the UK fall so far behind (I am of course speaking in general terms, this does not apply to everyone).
Certainly this must be harming the UK in some form or other, and I wonder why nothing has been done about it so far. In Denmark many actually consider our language capabilities below the average of Europe, specifically countries such as Holland, where if I remember correctly, there are 3 different mother-tongues. Sooner or later this will come back to haunt the UK, specifically with the rise of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese as the languages of the future.
So Escapists, why do you think this has come to happen, whether it is in the UK or another country, what do you think should be done about it, and what would the consequences be if nothing was to be done about this?
Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was the language proficiency of different countries around the world, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom. Being a Dane who has lived 6 years of his life in the UK and spent all of that time in school, I was genuinely shocked when I moved back to Denmark and started College just a few months ago: I realised that the standard, run-of-the-mill level of language proficiency in secondary languages (anything but the mother-tongue) is extremely below par in the UK compared to, specifically Denmark, but I assume many other European countries as well.
Now, I got an A in my German GCSE, top of my class, and when I moved back I could barely cope in my new German class as the language proficiency was so much higher overall. This couldn't have been due to a higher level of learning now that we're in College, as the first thing my teacher told us was that 'We're gonna start right from the bottom, and work our way up'. So I was quite shocked when I dropped not a few grades, and I've had to work extremely hard to bring my game up, so to speak.
This wasn't just in German, it was in all languages being studied at the College, and when coupled with the fact that nearly all College level Danes already have a fair grasp of the English language (I can certainly hold an intelligent discussion with them, even if I do lose them sometimes) I am unable to grasp why this is the case, that the students of the UK fall so far behind (I am of course speaking in general terms, this does not apply to everyone).
Certainly this must be harming the UK in some form or other, and I wonder why nothing has been done about it so far. In Denmark many actually consider our language capabilities below the average of Europe, specifically countries such as Holland, where if I remember correctly, there are 3 different mother-tongues. Sooner or later this will come back to haunt the UK, specifically with the rise of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese as the languages of the future.
So Escapists, why do you think this has come to happen, whether it is in the UK or another country, what do you think should be done about it, and what would the consequences be if nothing was to be done about this?
