Proposed Education Changes

Guest99 · Post by **Guest99** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 7:32 am

I see that the THINK tank in the education broom cupboard have been at it again. They are proposing some good ideas, such as financial mangement domestic science and being responsible citizens, which I welcome, being taught in schools At the same time, they are proposing to introducing the teaching of additional langauges such as Mandarin and Urdu. The chinese langauge I also understand since China will be a dominant force in the future for doing business with, however, can someone please explain the relavence of Urdu? Is this to appease the minorities?, if so why not teach Hindi which the main spoken and written langauage of the asian sub-continent such as India and where most of the business is being conducted.

This is not an offensive post in any shape or form, I am a parent trying to uderstand the motives behinfd the thinking, and as parents we should all be question ideas like these when they are being proposed and should have a say in what is being taught to our children.

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:38 am

I would imagine that the intention behind teaching Urdu is to enable the second/third generation to learn their "native" tongue - probably primarily in written form, as they may speak it within the family but not use the written language.

As for Mandarin, I stand by what I posted a few months back. By the time we have mastered how to say "Good morning" in Mandarin, 1 billion Chinese will be speaking English fluently and laughing their little socks off at us ....

Sally-Anne

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:20 pm

see that the THINK tank in the education broom cupboard have been at it again. They are proposing some good ideas, such as financial mangement domestic science and being responsible citizens, which I welcome, being taught in schools At the same time, they are proposing to introducing the teaching of additional langauges such as Mandarin and Urdu. The chinese langauge I also understand since China will be a dominant force in the future for doing business with, however, can someone please explain the relavence of Urdu? Is this to appease the minorities?, if so why not teach Hindi which the main spoken and written langauage of the asian sub-continent such as India and where most of the business is being conducted.

Interesting post. I didn't realise Urdu was on the menu. As someone with an asian background I must say I also agree with this posting and I really don't see the point. I would rather my children learnt european languages which they are more likely to use, even if only on holiday. I can see the point in learning Mandarin - booming global economy etc- but I think Sally Anne is correct in that we will probably end up with egg on our faces, especially as not all Chinese speak Mandarin - some only speak Cantonese or one of a number of other dialects!

Catherine · Post by **Catherine** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:31 pm

Sally-Anne wrote:As for Mandarin, I stand by what I posted a few months back. By the time we have mastered how to say "Good morning" in Mandarin, 1 billion Chinese will be speaking English fluently and laughing their little socks off at us ....

I tend to agree, but I think that the idea is to show some effort and understanding of the country's culture. Although english is now de facto the international language, the non-speaking countries do appreciate it if their language is valued. I think that for an international business it makes sense to have a few chinese speaking employees.

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:58 pm

Catherine wrote:I tend to agree, but I think that the idea is to show some effort and understanding of the country's culture. Although english is now de facto the international language, the non-speaking countries do appreciate it if their language is valued. I think that for an international business it makes sense to have a few chinese speaking employees.

I agree with that Catherine - as someone who speaks 5 languages (not all fluently, I hasten to add) and can muster basic greetings in several more, my humble efforts are always appreciated, even if the conversation often resorts to English after a few sentences!

However, if the educationalists in the broom cupboard think that more than an infinitesmally small fraction of the population are going to master a complex language like Mandarin, they need to get out more! Our track record as a nation on learning languages is dismal enough, even for more accessible languages like French and German!

Sally-Anne

Catherine · Post by **Catherine** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:53 pm

Sally-Anne wrote:However, if the educationalists in the broom cupboard think that more than an infinitesmally small fraction of the population are going to master a complex language like Mandarin, they need to get out more! Our track record as a nation on learning languages is dismal enough, even for more accessible languages like French and German!

I agree, and I can't see many kids taking up chinese.

But at present, the KS3 curriculum gives the choice of studying french, spanish or german. Other languages can be offered, but extra-curriculum .

I support the idea of having a wider choice than just european languages. Very few will ever master a difficult language like madarin, but it gives a possibility to those who are interested.

Grumpy etc... · Post by **Grumpy etc...** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:17 pm

Sally-Anne wrote:I would imagine that the intention behind teaching Urdu is to enable the second/third generation to learn their "native" tongue - probably primarily in written form, as they may speak it within the family but not use the written language.
As for Mandarin, I stand by what I posted a few months back. By the time we have mastered how to say "Good morning" in Mandarin, 1 billion Chinese will be speaking English fluently and laughing their little socks off at us ....

Sally-Anne

Then they should fund it themselves like, for example, the Poles with whom I was friendly at college many moons ago. They kept their own culture, language and traditions up through volunteering and funding lessons etc themselves.
Their is NO WAY the taxpayer should be expected to fund recent incomers or their descendants to preserve alien minority cultures of any shape, size or persuasion.
It should be a given that if you come to this country you should learn the language. By all means preserve you own, original culture BUT NOT OUT OF MY POCKET! If it is that important do it your self....
....or is Brown just as desperate to kowtow to the minorities and kiss the feet of the idol that is political correctness and (failed) multiculturalism as his appalling predecessor?

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:05 pm

Grumpy

Please note that I am only assuming the reasons behind it - I have no idea what the government's strategy here actually is! The absence of replies from anyone else suggests that they haven't either.

Sally-Anne

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:36 pm

Perhaps schools should do more in trying teach English properly so that our children don't starting sounding like Vicky Pollard. Since most children today are more interested in RAP music and text message communication, the basics of using good langauage skills have eroded. Teaching a foriegn language to the kids will be a waste of time until fundementals have been sorted out.

I for one do not want my sons sounding like Vicky Pollard.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:39 pm

Sally-Anne wrote:
I would imagine that the intention behind teaching Urdu is to enable the second/third generation to learn their "native" tongue - probably primarily in written form, as they may speak it within the family but not use the written language.
....

Sally-Anne

So why do my children need to learn a langauge that is of no use to us. I am a second generation Indian, can we have hindi on the menu as well please?