Tag Search for `French`

How much will people spend on learning a new language and why?

December 1st, 2015 by Anna Michaelidou

Being fluent in a second language offers many benefits and opportunities for all ages; but learning a new language takes time and dedication. It is not that it is necessarily a difficult task; it is merely understanding that language skills are a habit that can be developed through discipline and practice. Did you know that there are approximately 7000 languages in the world today? Let's have a quick look at the distribution of world languages by area and origin.

D... Read More »

Commonly Studied Languages

January 19th, 2015 by Sarah Adams

Today's economy is increasingly globalised, and this means that many of us are interacting across cultures in a way we never did before. Learning a new language takes time and dedication. Once you do, being fluent in a second language offers numerous benefits and opportunities. Learning a second language is exciting and beneficial at all ages. It offers practical, intellectual and many aspirational benefits.

In today's world, the... Read More »

Changes to the National Curriculum for primary schools

May 29th, 2014 by first tutors

From September 2014 languages will become a compulsory subject within the national curriculum for primary age school children in Britain.

Schools will have a certain amount of freedom to chose the language they intend to teach. At present there are 7 on the list to chose from. These include both modern and classical languages - French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Latin and Ancient Greek.

It remains to be seen whether schools and teachers are sufficiently geared up to t... Read More »

Top 5 Languages You Should Learn in 2014

August 1st, 2013 by Dexter Findley

Congratulations! If you're reading (and understanding) this then you know English, the one language in the world that will get you somewhere everywhere. An official language of a prodigious percentage of countries, it may not be a local tongue but its basics are known almost universally. But say you want to learn another language, one that will be useful, rather than one that just gets you bonus points while on holiday? Which one should you aim for? Here are the Top Five.

Learn to love a language again

April 14th, 2010 by Emily

The English traditionally have a reputation for speaking one language very well - their own! It's a common joke amongst our European cousins that those in the UK don't bother to learn foreign languages. By contrast, many Europeans speak perfect English.

Obviously, this is a great shame, especially if you're one of the many people who learned a language at school and then promptly forgot it the minute you stopped having tuition in that subject. A language is like a muscle. You have t... Read More »

Language tuition could add £21bn to the UK economy

September 10th, 2009 by Emily

The National Centre for Languages (Cilt) has spoken out to urge the government to put language tuition at the top of the agenda.

According to Cilt, French, ... Read More »

Should we be ditching French for Mandarin?

August 5th, 2009 by Emily

For years French has been the most popular foreign language taught in schools. French tutors have also proved exceptionally popular, and not just amongst the school-age population. Older people looking to work or retire abroad are also keen to employ a tutor.

France is our nearest truly foreign neighbour and in times past the two countries' languages were hea... Read More »

One world, one language?

July 29th, 2009 by Emily

I used to fear French at school. I could never get to grips with it. English GCSE, Maths A-level, - no problem. But for some unknown reason I always struggled with languages, and French ... Read More »