Text 1 “Why do we continue to isolate ourselves by only speaking English” is an article written by Will Hutton and published on the website of the British Sunday paper “The Observer” on February 5, 2012.
The author presents a crisis that will damage Britain’s future. According to Hutton it is important for the British people to learn more than one language. She thinks it is important to talk foreign language because many reasons. First of all, the catastrophe will harm the British people’s language skills, but most of all the economic and political wellbeing will also be restrictive. Therefore, Hutton describe the necessity of learning a new language, as it is closely related to the economic development of the country. Hutton compare Britain to America and says that British people should not act like Americans. He indicates why American can have their attitude to foreign language, while British people cannot. Americans living in a country which is a political world power dominating the world in many areas. Britain, however have to look globally to secure its future.
According to Hutton, the British should associate foreign language learning with evolution, both personal and social. But he admits in the same time that learning a new language can be difficult. It is therefore important that teachers and parents play an obligatory role in encouraging a child to learn a foreign language because it would be a great use in the future.
The second text “Do we really need foreign language skills to flourish?” written by David Hughes, was published on the website of The Telegraph in 2012. David Hughes is a criticism of the previous article, text one. He agrees with Hutton that foreign language learning is a value for everyone. But on the other hand he does not believe that it has such an important effect on Britain’s economy. He does not see the importance in that when the rest of the world is learning English. He gives the examples of Eastern families who speak English on a regular basis.
The third text, written by Susan Purcell, was published on the website of The Guardian in 2012.
Susan Purcell explains the problems presented in text 1
She states that the discussion is not as simple as people try to make it. The discussion is more nuanced and therefore it should be regarded through various angles.
She accentuates the fact that learning a foreign language is not easy for the British. She gives the example of many European countries where English is obligatory in schools and she explains that Britain does not have the same system. Although foreign languages are taught in Britain, they are not compulsory; British people are faced with the problem of choosing the best language to learn, as they do not know what the future holds and which language will be of most use. Purcell believes that the general attitude of British people is defensive. They are against learning new languages, in contrast to other countries that make an effort and learn.
1. How does Susan Purcell argue for her views in text 3? Give examples from the text.
Susan Purcell’s article is the most remarkable between the three. This has many reasons. First of all, her article is not as conclusive as the others because she sees the discussion for various angels. On the first hand she underlines that English language has its due importance on the European continent. “English is the mandatory first foreign language in 13 of the EU’s member states, but children usually opt for it even in countries where it is not mandatory. ”But at the same time she talks about about the tendency to guide students away from language learning in general. … with headteachers stearing pupils away from so-called “difficult” subjects towards subjects where they are likely to get higher grades.” She argues that these tendencies tend to affect university graduates more than they think. But again she mentions how choosing a new language to learn can prove to be a difficult task for British students. By hearing as readers the discussion from various angels she makes the reader think about the criteria used when making this decision. The reader will not just get a definitive answer and therefor take decision.
Susan use personal pronouns like us and we: ”Here in Britain we are…” ”when employers talk about the strong foreign language skills of our European neighbours..” She isolates the situation between” us” and ”them”. By using these pronouns, she connects with her readers, because they will feel that it is a discussion which concern them. the majority of the readers will be British people because the fact that the article was published on a British website, theguardian.co.uk.
Furthermore Purcell uses these rhetorical questions. “But what about us here in Britain when it comes to choosing which foreign language to teach first? Things are not so clear-cut for us. Which is the best language to learn? Is Spanish more useful than French? Will teaching youngsters Mandarin Chinese improve their chances of finding a job in 10 years’ time? Who knows?” That makes the reader understand the difficult task of making predictions for the future that the students face.
Susan Purcell’s argumentation technique is characterized by ethos. “As a result, only 44% of the school pupils took a modern language GCSE in 2009” (P. 5, l. 40-42). When she needs to prove her statement she is very faithful with her statistics. Ethos have the effect that it makes us trust her information’s and perhaps helps convince us that her points are relevant and her arguments solid. Beyond this Purcell is a linguist. Therefore, she also seems to be more reliable because she is specialist in languages.
2. Taking your starting point in one of the texts, discuss the value of mastering foreign languages.
Some people believes that learning a new language will prove to be of great value for the future and will come with great advantages in several areas. Other people believes that learning English is more than enough and at the same time it will prove to be very difficult and boring learning other languages. But who is right? That is a matter of opinion.
David Hughes is just one example of many people who believes that we do not need foreign language skills to flourish. He believes that if you are born in Britain or USA it will not be a problem for you. Your first language will be enough to get around a lot of places. So why it is a highly coveted ability to master a second language?
First of all, the world will be assimilated. It would not be very multicultural. In a globalized world like ours it is fantastic to meet different cultures – and different languages. And if you want to see some of the world, you should take a look at another culture, another language. Furthermore, When we learn a language we also get to know a culture. That culture gives us a new way to live, a new way of seeing ourselves and a new way of accepting people different from you. It is necessary for us to understand others and not to live only in one world. It is what makes us human. Our countries are no longer made up of one main culture. People move from one continent to another and must coexist with people from different cultures and different religions