At 16 years old children often take GCSE French, German or Spanish. Spanish is very popular because many British families go to Spain on holiday. Children can then choose to study the language further by taking an A-Level exam. Further study is at University. Many people choose to study a language with another subject, such as Business Studies or Economics. Speaking another language looks good on your CV and can be very useful in your career.
There are many reasons for learning languages. Why are you learning English? (See my 'How to learn a language' page). When we are children we use language to communicate with our parents. Language is vital in education and the ability to read and write is very important. The ability to read and write is called Literacy. Many people have a problem with literacy and find it difficult to cope with everyday life. When we speak we use body language too.
When we learn a second language we usually learn from a course book or text book. The first thing we learn is how to greet each other and ask simple questions. In each chapter of the text book there are exercises with several questions. These are often given as homework and the teacher marks them. If you have many wrong, you know that you don't understand. Every chapter usually has some information about grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives, abverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, articles ..etc), pronunciation, punctuation and a list of new vocabulary (word list).
English is spoken and understood in Wales and Scotland but Welsh and Gaelic are official languages. The street signs and written information (leaflets, documents, forms) are written in dual language.
English is a very useful language. It is used for business and pleasure. It is everywhere, on TV, on the radio, in advertising, on product information, on the internet and installation instructions. At home people speak their mother tongue or home language but sometimes need to use an English word when their is no alternative in the native language. English at home is often different to the English used at work. At home or in the community people are more likely to speak in dialect. Various regions of Britain also have different accents. These can be difficult for a non-native speaker to understand.
the majority - the minority
many - few
bilingual = two languages
multilingual = many languages
TESL = Teaching English as a
Second Language
can = to be able to
often - seldom
EAL = English as an Additional
Language
CV = Curriculum Vitae
to communicate [verb]
vital = necessary
read and write = Literacy skills
to ask - to answer
to mark = to check & correct
to understand - understood [past]
BBC - learn in your language
British Council
