Languages
Here at SBL we buck the trend in language learning. All students learn at least one language to GCSE many of them learn more.
Why learn foreign languages?
Surely the whole world speaks English!? Not so, it is estimated that only 20% of the world’s population can speak English. In business and commerce the lingua franca is currently our mother tongue but the new super powers of China, India and Japan are shaping this increasingly small and global world. It is said that when buying one can use one’s own language, but to sell to other economies one should use their language.
The truth is that not everyone wants to be in business. The truth is also that no matter what life path our children choose for themselves their lives can only be enriched by learning to speak another language. Much like learning to play an instrument gives one an understanding of music so a foreign language gives us an insight into other people; understanding of their cultures and their traditions.
Even a cheap holiday can be made more rewarding, more adventurous with a smattering of shared words. But the global world offers so much more than holidays to our future generations. It is more and more common now for all manner of companies and institutions to have offices and departments, competition or colleagues, and work placements in other parts of the globe. The ability to communicate with other countries or to travel to other countries or to live in other countries gives our children a necessary skill set for their lives.
Indeed, learning to acquire language skills is an invaluable skill that we may use throughout our lives; it allows us to pick up the useful basics in most other languages. Having language learning skills allows us to make ourselves understood in almost all parts of the world and it provides us with the steps to learn to build and collect more vocabulary and structures in any new language. This is why employers and universities see even a GCSE in a minority language as useful. Even if the language is not specifically needed, the fact that a student has been successful in learning it means that they will be a quicker learner of another language.
But much more than that languages are fun, modern and relevant. They make life more interesting because more meaningful connections can be made with the people we encounter. Nelson Mandela famously said: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.’
Top 10 reasons why languages are great
1. English is not enough! Not everyone speaks or wants to speak English.
2. A language will always be useful, no matter what you do.
3. In class, you get to study a wide range of topics all about different people and cultures, not just how to speak.
4. You can read books, watch films and listen to songs in their native language - and understand them too!
5. Languages mean business - being able to speak a language will make you really stand out.
6. They’re good for you! Speaking more than one language increases your brain capacity, improves your memory and you'll be at less risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
7. It’s really impressive to be able to speak a foreign language. It's a real achievement that your friends will envy and employers will love!
8. You can understand and talk to lots more people when you go abroad.
9. Using a language at work could raise your salary from 8-20%.
10. Learning languages really improves your communication skills.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela
