A foreign language is a language Language is a term most commonly used to refer to so called "natural languages" — the forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. By extension the term also refers to the type of human thought process which creates and uses language. Essential to both meanings is the systematic creation, maintenance and use of systems of not spoken by the people of a certain place. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese Japanese (日本語?, [nihoŋɡo] ) is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none of them has gained unanimous acceptance. Japanese is an agglutinative is a foreign language to him or her. These two characterizations do not exhaust the possible definitions, however, and the label is occasionally applied in ways that are variously misleading or factually inaccurate.
A German student learning French.Some children learn more than one language from birth or from a very young age: they are bilingual Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. The generic term for a multilingual person is polyglot or multilingual Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. The generic term for a multilingual person is polyglot. These children can be said to have two or more mother tongues: neither language is foreign to that child, even if one language is a foreign language for the vast majority of people in the child's birth country. For example, a child learning English from her English The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant mother and Japanese at school in Japan can speak both English and Japanese, but neither is a foreign language to her.
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Foreign language education and ability
| The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. |
Most schools around the world teach at least one foreign language. By 1998 nearly all students in Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the studied at least one foreign language as part of their compulsory education, the only exception being Ireland Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɾlənd],; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest island in the world. It lies to the northwest of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from, where primary and secondary schoolchildren learn both Irish Irish is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language only by a small minority of the Irish population but is also used as a second language by a larger and expanding minority[citation needed]. It also plays an important and English, but neither is considered a foreign language (although Irish pupils do study a third European language). On average in Europe, at the start of foreign language teaching, learners have lessons for three to four hours a week. Compulsory lessons in a foreign language normally start at the end of primary school A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In some or the start of secondary school Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from elementary or primary education. In Luxembourg Luxembourg (pronounced /ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-berg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of over half a, Norway After World War II, Norway experienced rapid economic growth, with the first two decades due to the Norwegian shipping and merchant marine and domestic industrialization, and from the early 1970s, a result of exploiting large oil and natural gas deposits that had been discovered in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Today, Norway ranks as the and Malta Malta /ˈmɔːltə/ , officially the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia, with the Strait of Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east, however, the first foreign language is studied at age six, and in Flanders Members of the Flemish Parliament who were elected in Brussels region, have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs. They can only vote on community affairs, since affairs concerning their region are governed by the Brussels Parliament at age 10[1]. In Wales Wales ( /ˈweɪlz/ Welsh: Cymru; pronounced [ˈkəmrɨ] (help·info)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. Wales has a population estimated at three million and is officially bilingual; Welsh and English have equal status, and bilingual signs are the, all children are taught Welsh Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border, in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia, and the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand from the first year of primary school, which is a foreign language to the majority of the population. The Welsh language is also compulsory up to the age of 16, although a formal GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales, Gibraltar and Northern Ireland. (In Scotland, the equivalent is the Standard Grade.) Some students may decide to take one or more qualification is optional.
In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for example, more than half of European countries with a minority/regional language community use partial immersion to teach both the minority and the state language.
In 1995 the European Commission The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union’s White Paper on Education and Training emphasized the importance of schoolchildren learning at least two foreign languages before upper secondary education. The Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined languages as one of the five key skills[citation needed].
Despite the high rate of foreign language teaching in schools, the number of adults claiming to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be expected. This is particularly true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land survey showed that only one in 10 UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land workers could speak a foreign language and less than 5% could count to 20 in a second language. In 2001, a European Commission survey found that 65.9% of people in the UK spoke only their native tongue.[citation needed]
Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has tried to standardize the learning of languages across Europe.
Pronunciation
Main articles: Non-native pronunciations of English and Anglophone pronunciation of foreign languagesResearch into foreign language learning
In 2004 a report by the Michel Thomas Language Centre in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land suggested that speaking a second language could increase an average worker's salary by £3,000 a year, or £145,000 in a lifetime. Further results showed that nine out of 10 British companies thought their businesses could benefit from better language skills. Studies show that a person that is bilingual or multilingual, can make a greater salary than a computer programmer or engineer because they can use their abilities in foreign language to obtain success in a wide range of career paths. Also due to the increase of international population, a multilingual person can easily communicate and translate to perspective viewers.
Also in 2004, a study by University College London University College London is a constituent college of the University of London, based primarily in Bloomsbury in the London Borough of Camden (UCL) examined the brains of 105 people who could speak more than one language. The study found that people who learned a second language when younger had denser grey matter Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil , glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries. Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts. The color difference arises mainly from the than those who learned one later. Grey matter is the part of the brain where information is processed.
Other research has shown that early exposure to a second language increases divergent thinking strategies, helping not only in language-related tasks, but also in areas such as math. Children early on have different ways of expressing themselves, such that they better understand there is more than one way to look at a problem and that there is more than one solution.
See also
- Language Resource Center
- International auxiliary language An international auxiliary language or interlanguage is a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. An auxiliary language is primarily a second language
- First language A first language is the language a human being learns from birth. The term is also used for the language that the speaker speaks best. In either case, a person's first language is a basis for sociolinguistic identity
- Language education Language education is the teaching and learning of a language. It can include improving a learner's mastery of her or his native language, but the term is more commonly used with regard to second language acquisition, which means the learning of a foreign or second language and which is the topic of this article. Language education is a branch of
- Language school As a general rule, new students take a placement test which enables teachers to determine which is the most appropriate level for the student. Courses can be organized in groups or for individuals . These language schools, generally open all year round, are equipped with pedagogical material (books, tape recorders, videos, language laboratories, a
- Multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. The generic term for a multilingual person is polyglot
- Official language An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language a legal status, even if that language is not
- Second language A second language is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1). Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas
- English as an additional language
- Teaching English as a foreign language
- Language exchange
- Learning by teaching In professional education, learning by teaching designates currently the method by Jean-Pol Martin that allows pupils and students to prepare and to teach lessons, or parts of lessons. Learning by teaching should not be confused with presentations or lectures by students, as students not only convey a certain content, but also choose their own
- Fremdsprachen und Hochschule
- Foreign language influences in English
Notes
- ^ http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/beleid/nota/talenbeleid-deel4.htm#2.6 Children in the Flemish Community of Belgium Members of the Flemish Parliament who were elected in Brussels region, have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs. They can only vote on community affairs, since affairs concerning their region are governed by the Brussels Parliament start learning French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in at age 10, English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of at 12 or 13 and, if chosen so, mostly German German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers or Spanish Countries where Spanish has official status. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 25% or more of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 10-20% of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 5-9.9% of the population at age 15 or 16, but with only the first two being obligatory. In the Brussels Capital Region Brussels (French: Bruxelles, pronounced [bʁysɛl] ; Dutch: Brussel, pronounced [ˈbrʏsəl] (help·info)), officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (help·info)), is the de facto capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in, however, French is taught starting at age 8.
Categories: Sociolinguistics Categories: Linguistics | Branches of sociology | Language acquisition Categories: Psycholinguistics | Language | Learning | Language education Categories: Education by subject | Language acquisition
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This superb film won the Foreign Language Oscar, eight Cesars and nine other festival awards. It's a dazzling drama about the final days of the French ...
kate
hu, 17 Jun 2010 14:15:59 GM
My college requires that I take a . foreign language. , but I get to choose which language from a large selection. Is there alanguage that will help me in my work?
Q. I'm not sure if I want to attend college as of now. (Don't worry, I have plans if not). However, I know that I want to learn the Spanish language. This will be my fourth year of instruction at school, but I will have taken 6 classes by graduation. My point is, are there any foreign language institutes? Are there any study abroad, or immersion programs that I could attend only to learn the foreign language? I haven't been notified of these options, and I would really like to know more about them. Please answer if you know. Thanks!
Asked by thegirlyoulove90 - Sun Aug 31 13:33:24 2008 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Just travel to a spanish speaking country and live there for a few weeks.
Answered by shine on me... - Sun Aug 31 14:31:40 2008
