Language Learning And The Importance Of Being Proud

If you are interested in why language learning is so common nowadays and why it is so important to be confident in speaking a foreign language, you will find some helpful insights in this blog post.

I would like to start this blog post by looking a little bit back into the past and especially on how the language knowledge and the ability to apply foreign languages in our daily life.

Starting my research for this post, I became curious about how my parents experienced their language learning in their childhood. Both had English from an early age in school.

Language Learning: How Did Our Parents' Generation Learn Languages?

My Moms English knowledge was on such a low level that the teachers suggested sticking rather with learning one language than choosing French as a second foreign language, which she would have loved to do. My Dad told me that the English lessons had been hard enough to endure on the one hand (he remembers one lesson when a guest teacher taught like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society) and to master on the other hand.

Since their parents had nearly no foreign language knowledge, they had no support for their homework at home. Songs on the radio were in German and making some bargain at the summer sale was called "Sommerschulssverkauf!"

Language Learning: The Grown Importance Of Language Learning Today

Our generation is grown up with at least one foreign language, but often already two, and with the broader possibility to travel abroad and work in international companies, we are exposed to English in our everyday life.

Nowadays, English has become an integral part of our everyday life and we probably all know the importance of language learning, especially if you are not grown up in an English speaking country. In the EU 94,70 % of the Pupils are learning English as their first foreign language (excluding the United Kingdom) and as their second foreign language 22.3 % are studying Spanish, while 18.1 % were studying French and 17.4 % German (Foreign language learning statistics 10/2019, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/1151.pdf).

Language Learning In The European Union

In the European Union (EU) learning a foreign language is a 'must'! the European Commission for Multilingualism has set the goal, that every child of the EU should be conversational in two foreign languages (European Commission, About multilingualism policy, https://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/multilingualism/about-multilingualism-policy_en). To reach this key qualification they promote language learning from an early stage on.

Language Learning: How Can We Support The Language Learning Of Our Children?

The generation of our children is growing up consciously with foreign languages. Having the possibility with our knowledge to talk to other native speakers in their language is such a great gift, but also a skill we had to learn sometimes the hard way. If we consider how easily our kids learn their own mother tongue, wouldn't it be lovely to share our foreign language knowledge in a comparable way with our children? Provide them with a lifelong gift to speak other languages with ease and confidence?

Language Learning: Learn Languages Like You Learned Your Mother Tongue?

We know how easy languages can be learned in childhood. In the course of globalization and the internationalization of our society, foreign language skills are of immense importance.

As always, the best conversation starts after this blog post and today I'm curious how you and your broader family experienced the development of learning foreign languages in the past and today? You are welcomed to leave a comment in the section below.

Thanks for spending your time on this blah - blog and see you next week,

Sabine