State of the Nation: Nation's in a state!

One of the most persistent phrases showing just how wrong the UK can get its attitude to language learning is "this nation is just rubbish at language learning". I come across it all the time, and in fact started this blog as a way of battling that very myth. You know what I believe: Nobody is rubbish at language learning. Just look at the language café report!

​britac.ac.uk/policy

​britac.ac.uk/policy

State of the Nation

I think a sentence that might be closer to the truth is "this nation (and it's government) is not that interested in language learning". One place where you can really see the roots of this is in the education system and policies. I wrote about it previously in "The Age Myth strikes again" and today I want to share the findings of a report by the British Academy. They looked into demand and supply of language skills in the UK in a very detailed report, and here's what they found:

  • The demand for language skills is rising all around the world, yet the UK is suffering from a growing deficit. What this means is that when a company does need skills in foreign languages, they'll rather teach their own experts a language than advertise for a linguist right from the start. This in turn makes languages less attractive because students are worried about future employment. Vicious circle complete.

  • ​Language teaching is just not good enough - the range is too small, the courses are only offered to some kind of "elite", and the uptake is often low. In Wales (a bilingual country!) only 3% of GCSE subject entries are in foreign languages.

  • The country produces great language experts, but those don't have an opportunity to develop other skills. The language courses are taught in isolation and so often they focus on travel and basic conversation, not workplace skills, customer service or management.

  • The government is operating way differently to what the job and cultural markets actually need!​

Positive signs?

There are some encouraging and positive points in the report as well, such as the great attitudes from employers towards languages. They really need and value them. The case studies are big companies like B&Q, Gatwick Airport but also interesting small and medium sized enterprises like New Era Aquaculture.​

The overall message is clear though: The government should really have another look at encouraging, promoting and facilitating language learning. Every now and then a good news item comes out, for example the English Baccalaureate seems to be slowly bringing on some more focus on languages - but at the same time that article mentions anti-European sentiments. And the attitudes you encounter can be even worse, need I really mention the Daily Mail here...Can we just not make any progress?!

What you can do

You don't have to become a polyglot to support language learning in the UK. Easy steps to take might just be to think about what's available beyond British borders. German statesman Willy Brand famously said that if you are buying, he'll speak English. But if you are selling, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen! And perhaps consider what your kids are being told at school - if you have to be great at French to even be offered a second language, I believe that is just plain wrong!

In other words, languages are great for business, great for Britain and great for all learners. I wonder what those from other English speaking countries like the USA will say to this?

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Why I'm quitting my job to become a full-time tutor

So you guys, I've got a personal announcement to make. You've just seen it in the heading - my office days are done, I'm going to dedicate myself fully to Fluent Language Tuition.

I have never done anything like this before. It's scary and exciting, and it's a credit to all my lovely students and friends that I feel ready for this. Let's make sure we take this opportunity and turn Fluent Language Tuition into a success!

In practical terms, this means I will have booking slots available every day of the week.

Things I love about being a tutor

  • Creating my own materials
  • Discovering online resources and techniques
  • When "grammar face" turns into "aha!!!!! face" 
  • Learning with my students and from my students
  • Inspiring those who thought they weren't "natural language learners" 
  • Meeting new people in the US, China, Switzerland, London, Lancaster...everywhere! 

Things I want to add to Fluent Language Tuition

As an ideas person, there's always a lot bouncing around in my head. One day I want to write the ultimate German learning ebook, the next I want to take you all on a holiday, and I always want to inspire businesses to get into the international markets out there!

You guys are invited - join me on the adventure of edupreneurship.

Inspiration is everywhere and I'm really excited that I will be able to work on more projects. But I want some guidance. What IS it that the world is missing? If you have suggestions, ideas or thoughts then please do comment. My blog is important to me and I love hearing from the community!

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Fluency Masterclass, Part 2: Writing

​Hey all, welcome to the second instalment in my series of articles looking at practical techniques for mastering each of the four core skills in language acquisition. Let's have a closer look at..

Writing

Yes, writing skills. That's that thing people did with pen and paper before screens and keyboards. Ideas for simple exercises to get started with might be writing your shopping list, packing list, postcards or recipes.

Using colours to mark word types, and to annotate my notes.

Using colours to mark word types, and to annotate my notes.

A word about writing and typing

In this article I do recommend you focus on old-school pen and paper. For the language learner, this provides a really important benefit: kinaesthetic (tactile) learning. This means that the movements of putting letter-shaped lines on paper in new combinations will help you remember.

There are also psychological benefits. I'm currently studying Russian - a new challenge with new letters! Putting them onto paper in my own handwriting and with my own hands gives the whole undertaking a stronger sense of achievement. It really is me mastering letters like л, Ф, and я!

If you do feel that you want to get typing, there are advantages to doing it online. Websites like Italki have journaling functions that invite native speakers to answer your questions or correct your entries, which can be excellent practice. Make sure you re-write everything after it's been corrected.

Steps to improve your writing skills

Play with colour, shape and paper

​Now that you are hopefully signed up to pen and paper, or at least stylus and paper app, you should use them to their full potential. Use different coloured pens, highlighters and crayons. Doodle. Mark up your sentences in a way that makes sense to you. Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Colour each word differently depending on its gender
  • Underline every verb, then shade in every object, then use another colour for different cases
  • Write out the sentence in one tense, then re-write it in another
  • Draw tables, boxes, diagrams, or whatever you need to illustrate your thoughts

Sound out the letters, syllables and words

While breaks and gaps in a conversation are so obvious they're bound to make you nervous, writing is something you can do in your own time. Languages have a script in order to document the sounds you make when speaking out loud, so make sure you engage fully when you are writing things down: Sound out each letter, add the sounds to make a word and really get to know them. Yes, it sounds silly. That probably means you are doing it correctly.

Listen and Write

Combining your language skills is the key to fluency. When it comes to writing, this means your integration should go both ways. Remember dictation tests from school? Find a simple audio example. Listen first and write down what you hear - this will work on your comprehension, spelling and most importantly teach you the connections between spelling and sound. Then compare your notes to the transcript to see what you got right. This exercise should be a weekly drill, because its benefits are bound to build up your skills significantly.

Writing was part two of the Fluency Masterclass. Catch up on Part 1 (Reading), and if you enjoyed this article why not subscribe to my monthly newsletter here:

Fluent Language Learning Newsletter

Why you must train 4 skills to achieve fluency

Ask most language learners what they are hoping to achieve, and you will come across a recurring ambition: fluency. The word fluent comes from the Latin language and indicates a sense of flow, because that's what conversations often do: they flow. So what you're hoping to achieve is a point where using another language becomes so easy that you won't have to hesitate, you won't look for words all the time and won't feel stuck.

If you are an independent learner, have you ever found yourself off balance? For example, you find yourself becoming a real expert in understanding spoken language, but a wall comes up in your brain as soon as you try to say the simplest of things. Or sometimes you have picked up a lot of spoken language and you'd be ok at the shop, but you can't read a single label!

Four Core Skills

As a language tutor, I make my students aware that there are four core skills to language learning: Speaking, Reading, Listening and Writing. You have got to become good at all of them and keep your levels balanced to prepare for true fluency in a language.

One example: Audio-based systems, such as CDs or podcasts, will put a lot of emphasis on speaking and listening. This is excellent for basic travelling or conversation. But it is enough if you really want to find that elusive fluency in your new language? Personally, I don't think so. Neglecting two of the four skills can really affect your confidence!

Since these core skills are ever so important, why don't we get to know them a little better:

Writing doesn't just refer to how good you are at composing a letter, note or blog post. It also includes your sound recognition. For example, how good are you at making notes based on what you're hearing, spelling them correctly and writing something legible in your target language.

Speaking, now that sounds hard doesn't it? It's not all about producing free-hand sentences and word order. Speaking starts when you meet the sounds of your target language. Pronunciation and accent work breed confidence, and putting that speaking practice in right from the start is key to helping you feel like communication is possible.

Listening is the skill of piecing together all the foreign sounds, analysing them in your mind and making sense of them as words and phrases. Listening helps you get the idea of what's going on, but more importantly it teaches you important pronunciation skills. All language production depends on what you hear, so don't underestimate this one.

Reading looks like a simple task after all those others. In any target language, the essence of this skill is in training you to spot patterns. Reading a lot will bring you in tune with the way sentences are built in a different language, and exercises engaging with a text are among the most useful you can work on for becoming fluent.

On top of learning those, you should engage with the culture, civics and geography of your target language. It really is a tall order, but trust me, it's worth it. You'll finally get over those "errrrr" moments.

How to test yourself

Ommm...find your balance, young deshi.​

Ommm...find your balance, young deshi.​

Here is an exercise I work on together with a lot of my learners. It's perfect for exposing a training rut or giving you inspiration for a new challenge. Draw yourself a diagram of all the skills you're hoping to train. Think about them and rate yourself out of 10 in each one. Then consult someone like a teacher or language buddy - what do they think? The outside perspective of another learner or a native speaker adds real value to the assessment.

Write your numbers on the diagram - are they balanced? Do you have a particular weakness or strength? Then think about how you have learnt your language so far, and what kind of exercises you've done most, and perhaps what you've been missing. For more exercises getting you ready to target your core skills, please check out my forthcoming ebook.

Thanks for reading this article!

Please have a look around other extremely useful articles on the blog by visiting the blog topics page or skipping straight to the Must Read content. Popular posts include:

 3 Noteworthy Techniques for remembering vocabulary once and for all

4 techniques for switching your brain into language mode

How to sell your language skill to any employer