1) Which languages did you learn in school, and for how long?
English and Irish were both compulsary for my entire primary and secondary education. I studied French for five years in secondary school (It was mandatory that you studied eithe French or German)
2) Which languages would you say you speak with some degree of fluency?
English and Irish, although my Irish is getting rustier all the time, it's been years since I've held a conversation in Irish so I may not be even fully fluent anymore. Not to mention that I always had difficulties understanding some Munster and Connaught dialects, but that could have been more to do with accents.
3) Do you think languages get too much attention in the school system you went to, too little, or just about enough?
It's not so much a question of attention being paid as much as it is a question of how it is thought. Irish is a prime example. It is mandatory for Irish students to learn Irish throughout their primary and secondary education (i.e. for 13 years) yet very few students emerge from their education with any sort of working knowledge of the language. There are constant debates here about how we can improve the situation but nothing concrete ever comes of them.
Foreign languages should be thought in primary schools as it is at this age that students will most easily pick up a language. This wasn't done in my day but things could very well have changed since then.
4) What do you think of the remarkable dominance of English that appears in the data?
It's not really surprising and as I speak neither French nor German I guess I should be thankful.
Once known as Hochopepa
You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can't fly; zombies do not run. - Simon Pegg
You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can't fly; zombies do not run. - Simon Pegg
/Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
24/09/2010 01:37:42 PM
- 1228 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 02:10:57 PM
- 643 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 03:32:09 PM
- 596 Views
That is rather sad to say the least.
24/09/2010 04:15:32 PM
- 831 Views
Indeed
24/09/2010 06:23:52 PM
- 633 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 04:00:04 PM
- 711 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 05:47:09 PM
- 671 Views
Interesting.
24/09/2010 06:04:30 PM
- 623 Views
Re: Interesting.
24/09/2010 06:42:02 PM
- 767 Views
Re: Interesting.
24/09/2010 07:05:44 PM
- 676 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
24/09/2010 09:38:05 PM
- 770 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 05:49:05 AM
- 750 Views
Self-study can be worth as much as formal classroom study, I suppose
25/09/2010 03:43:14 PM
- 728 Views
Certainly it can.
26/09/2010 12:35:56 PM
- 728 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 04:54:40 PM
- 869 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 07:38:29 PM
- 792 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
26/09/2010 12:07:19 AM
- 812 Views
They should have asked about second languages rather than foreign languages.
26/09/2010 11:34:27 AM
- 647 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
27/09/2010 03:18:30 PM
- 709 Views