Page 7 - ELG1601 May Issue 436

ELEuropean Union 2016

An EL Gazette supplement: English language and international education

UK language

learning falls

TEACHERS AND school difficult than other subjects.
leaders in the UK have ‘deep programmes at the British Coun-
Mark Herbert, head of schools
Courtesy Cristina Cifuentes, Comunidad de Madrid Trend Survey report recently mated to be costing the economy
concerns’ about the current state
cil, said, ‘The country’s current
of language learning, accord-
ing to the fourteenth Language
shortage of language skills is esti-
released by the British Council
tens of billions in missed trade and
and the Education Development
business opportunities every year.
Trust, writes Claudia Civinini.
Parents, schools and businesses can
Since the report’s first publica-
all play their part in encouraging our
young people to study languages at
tion in 2002, entries for A-levels
school and to ensure that language
(senior secondary school exams)
in French and German have
and prominence that it deserves.’
plummeted. Increasing interest in
If there is hope, it lies in pri-
Spanish and other languages is not
mary schools. The study reported
enough to compensate, and some learning is given back the respect
Spain spends €500,000 on Civil Guard’s English state schools are even suggest- some positive trends – all pri-
ing that A-level languages could mary schools surveyed provided
The Spanish Guardia Civil (Civil language courses – sixty to ninety native English speakers from at least become ‘financially unviable’. language teaching for their pupils
Guard) is investing over half a hours of English with between three nationalities. They will GCSE (year 10 exams) numbers and 42 per cent had increased the
million euros in English language fourteen and sixteen students in each experience ‘real situations’ ensuring have also declined. The highest resources available for languages.
courses for more than 3,000 officers, class – there will be different subjects thirteen hours of English exposure, proportion of students sitting a lan- However, while more second-
the digital newspaper Vozpopuli has depending on the officer’s rank. one-to-one conversations, public guage GCSE is a mere 64 per cent, ary schools are beginning to
reported, writes Andrea Pérez. These Non-commissioned officers will have speaking and conference calls. found in inner London. cater for pupils who have stud-
courses aim to equip members of sessions on police work, arrests, The Guardia Civil is the oldest law Education professionals blame ied languages at primary level,
the Civil Guard (pictured above at drug use and how to write a police enforcement agency in Spain, the exam system itself, with the report states that ‘the quality
the Our Lady of the Pillar ceremony) statement. The courses for higher- founded in 1844. Today it has more reports of ‘harsh and inconsistent and consistency of provision is
with enough English language to ranking officers working on the than 80,000 officers and is the marking’ of papers, and research not always seen as providing a
face day-to-day problems. borders and on European missions responsibility of the Ministry of the by the Office of Qualifications and worthwhile level of knowledge
Apart from the general English will involve linguistic immersion with Interior and the Ministry of Defence. Examinations Regulation suggest- for pupils to apply to their stud-
ing that language exams are more ies in secondary school’. n
Euro Parliament calls

for more VET training

MATT SALUSBURY The resolution then comes with level of allowances’ – money
writes a total of 72 ‘calls’ or ‘recommen- to help prepare participants for
dations’, with repeated references their ‘international experience’
ON 12 April the European Par- to language skills in VET. Else- doing vocational training abroad,
liament passed a resolution on where, it calls on the Commission including support for language
‘Erasmus+ and other tools to to ‘combat the phenomena of lack teaching before they go.
foster mobility in vocational of motivation, lack of proactive The version of the resolution
education and training (VET)’. predisposition and lack of lan- on the European Parliament’s
This makes several specific guage skills’ in the VET sector. website as we went to press
mentions of promoting ‘lan- It also notes that there should was labelled ‘provisional edi-
guage training’ to aid youth be measures to ‘assess implemen- tion’. Beyond recommendations,
mobility in vocational educa- tation progress’ on elements of the only concrete action of the
tion and training across the EU. the Commission’s mobility pro- resolution is that it ‘instructs
Erasmus+ is the €2.2 billion grammes (including Erasmus+), its president to forward this
European Commission super- with a particular focus that would resolution to the Council, the
programme for grant-funded ‘support the learning of basic Commission and the Member
mobility programmes, which elements of the language of the States’ of the EU. It is not bind-
allow EU students – and in some host country’. Evaluation of the ing, and the European Parliament
cases teachers – to take courses effectiveness of projects such does not have the power of ‘leg-
in other EU member states. as Erasmus+ should take place islative initiative’. While it can
The preamble to the resolu- more frequently and take account hold the Commission to account
tion, which is also known as of the participants’ ‘level of lan- and vote down its budgets, it can-
P8-TA-PROV(2016)017, states guage knowledge’ and other ‘key not introduce legislation itself.
that the European Parliament aspects’ that would influence their References to language train-
‘gives regard to’ 21 recom- learning outcomes. There are ing encompass all languages
mendations from the European more explicit calls for ‘financing spoken in the EU, with refer-
Commission (the EU’s civil ser- linguistic support for all partici- ences in the resolution to ‘the
vice) the Council of Ministers pants’ in mobility schemes. host country’ where someone
(all the EU member states’ edu- The resolution cites among on an Erasmus+ exchange does
cation ministers) and various EU examples of best practice the their vocational training. How-
regulations and charters. There Drop’pin@EURES online portal ever, some parts of Erasmus+,
follow fourteen paragraphs, – aimed at young people – which especially in higher education,
each beginning with the word includes e-learning language require that courses of study are
‘Whereas’, with paragraph H courses, and calls for these to delivered in the principal lan-
noting that ‘Whereas language be better publicised. Yet another guages of international education
skills are lower in VET and need recommendation encourages the in the EU – English, French and
specific boosting’. establishment of a ‘minimum possibly Spanish or German. n

Inside your 6-page European Union supplement:

Italian Clil (left) pages 8&9
UK safety first page 10
Poland (right) page 11
Netherlands page 11