(MENAFN Press) (EMAILWIRE.COM, December 23, 2012 ) San Francisco, CA --
All the primary schools in England will begin to teach both foreign languages in what is a major push for education standards in the country.
Students must handle at least one of seven shortlisted languages. French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Latin, and Ancient Greek will all be offered to grades seven- to 11-year-old students.
The maneuver to have children broadening their understanding of language was outlined in a consultation document that the Department of Education published. The resulting effect will be a large surge in student's who are more than capable of speaking in foreign tongue.
Officials stated that both Latin and ancient Greek were to be included in order to give primary schools further options, with the claim that the languages provided a strong grounding in grammar, syntax, and overall vocabulary comprehension. Those skills translate into students understanding language on a deeper level that simple utterances. The move comes after studies found English schoolchildren were less likely to study foreign languages up to a decent standard compared to their continental counterparts.
As of last year, only 10% of primary schools do not offer a foreign language, and 20% only offer it to certain grades.
Within the new plan is the standard of 17,000 primary schools being expected to teach languages to pupils from ages seven to 11.
Education Minister Elizabeth Truss stated "We must give young people the opportunities they need to compete in a global jobs market fluency in a foreign language will now be another asset our school leavers and graduates will be able to boast.
Experts believe that German and Spanish will be the most popular of the possible languages, with Italian and Mandarin being in the secondary group. The Government has stated that Mandarin was seen as vital to teach for the future of Britain's economy.
