Bilingualism: New Prospects

The image of the Briton abroad, speaking English slowly and loudly in the expectation that eventually the natives will get the idea, is a stereotypewith a good deal of truth behind it. According to a survey by the European Commission last year, just 30% of Britons can converse in a language other than their own. Bad as these figures are, they are flattered by the one in ten residents of Britain who speak a language other than English at home.

Thе next generation is unlikely to do even this well. Fewer young people are studying languages in school, a trend that has accelerated since 2004, when the government allowed English schools to make foreign languages optional for students aged 14 and over. Even those who are keen on languages often drop them at this stage now, as schools offer a narrower choice of languages and don’t schedule as obligatory subjects. Around four in five of all English state schools allow their students to abandon languages at 14 and some private schools are starting to follow suit. In 2006 only half of all students took a foreign-language gcse exam – the standard test for 16-year-olds.

The place of languages in the secondary-school curriculum may no longer be the government's to decide. Young people hoping to do a degree at a prestigious university may find themselves having to study a foreign language until at least the age of 16. The idea is to persuade young people and schools that studying a language is necessary and worthwhile.

Nearly a quarter of the world's population speaks some English. That includes around 400m who speak it as their mother tongue and, about the same number who speak it fluently as their second language. English is the global language of academic research, and perhaps 1,500 master's degrees are taught in English in countries where the language has no official status. It provides the vocabulary for some specialised fields, such as air-traffic control. And it is the working language of a growing number of international companies – a big reason why so many of them choose London for their headquarters.

Enthusiasm for English is spreading— even in lingually correct Brussels. In China 180m students are learning English in the formal education system, and more than a fifth of Japanese five-year-olds now attend classes in English conversation. Countries as diverse as Chile and Mongolia have declared their intention to become bilingual in English over the next decade or two. And this year English was added to the curriculum studied by Mexican primary-school children, who are learning the language along with 200,000 teachers.

At first sight this means that things are about to get even cushier for native English speakers; they needn't lift a finger to learn other people's subjunctives. But there are two catches. The first is that they will lose the competitive advantagethat once came with being among the relatively few to speak the world's most useful language. Competent bilinguals, many of whom have travelled in the course of acquiring English, can offer everything that English monoglots can – as well as an extra language and an international perspective.

More subtly, as native Anglophones are increasingly outnumbered by people who speak English as a second language, the future of their own language is passing from their hands.

Anglophones often complain that they would study a foreign language, if only they, like the rest of the world, knew which to choose. But the freedom to choose a second tongue is really more a boon than a curse. Entrepreneurial English-speakers could go for another fast-growing language such as Spanish, Mandarin or Arabic, allowing them to get the leap on their polyglot rivals in these important tongues. Or, in this country of first-and second-generation immigrants, owners of foreign holiday homes and workers dreaming of retiring to the sun, they could pick something more idiosyncratic and follow their hearts.

(The source: adapted from www.economist.com/node/8418152)

C. Complete the sentences according to the text:

1. Almost one third of Britain population can ____________ in a language other than their own.

2. But today’s generation of young Britons is not _____ on languages and schools don’t schedule foreign languages as _______ subjects.

3. Only those young people who hope _____ ______ at a prestigious university may find themselves having to study a foreign language until at least the age of 16.

4. Different countries have declared their intention to become _________ in English over the next decade or two, and this year the English language was added to their school ____________ .

5. Nowadays bilingualism turns out to be a ______________ _____________ .

6. Native Anglophones are increasingly ________ by people who speak English as a second language.

7. ________ English-speakers could learn another fast-growing language such as Spanish, Mandarin or Arabic.

8. This opportunity allows them to get the leap on their polyglot _____ in these important languages.

D. Read the text again and answer the questions below:

1. What is the most common stereotype concerning the English language?

2. What optional subjects do British young people study at school?

3. Are young people in Britain keen on foreign languages?

4. What is GCSE exam?

5. Is it obligatory to study foreign languages if someone hopes to do a degree at a prestigious university?

6. What does the phrase “the global language of academic research” mean?

7. What competitive advantage do the native speakers lose in terms of English?

8. What are “competent bilinguals”? And what are “monoglots”?

9. What does the phrase “English as a second language” mean?

10. What are the advantages of learning English as a second language?

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