Any recommendation for German and Spanish dictionaries

[Amber]

I No basic understanding of avoir and etre or any underpinning of structure (relating to the Latin thread, I attribute all my understanding of grammatical structure to basic instruction in foreign language learning whether modern or dead). DS1 seems to have a scattergun, pick'n'mix grasp on French which is crying out for basic, fancy-free, no frills basics. Which are not provided.

Unfortunately this is a consequence of what some (braver souls than I) would call the dumbing down of MFL courses, to make them 'accessible' and 'relevant'. This has led to an emphasis on the kind of language you might need on holiday, which admittedly used to be missing from 'O' level courses; and a parallel reduction in grammar teaching. Having bailed out a couple of bright but badly taught GCSE students last year (both from different GSs, for the record), I ended up in despair of a curriculum which, as you say, does not teach the basic and irregular verbs, the agreement of nouns and adjectives etc, except in little bits, scattered here and there in textbooks. It does take quite a brave teacher, I suppose, to bite the bullet and teach it anyway. (I had the luxury of doing it outside school and don't really know any other way to teach, finding the tapas approach - a little bit here and there - very irritating).

[Milla]

Unfortunately this is a consequence of what some (braver souls than I) would call the dumbing down of MFL courses, to make them 'accessible' and 'relevant'.

It just makes it all confusing. It's one thing to apply the tapas approach once you are in receipt of the basics, but if you don't have that, then there is no context and nothing to which to velcro the vague floating scraps. I don't see why solid rote learning should be so derided - it's not in all subjects for all day long but just as and when and where necessary. As a child, I used to love knowing that I was learning something rather than it all being done by osmosis through "play". OK, I might be a bit strange in that but what's wrong with a few frills-free sessions establishing the basics. Then get out the patatas bravas.

[Amber]

Of course I agree. But if you look at our education system as a whole you can see this trend mirrored everywhere. While there are no doubt solid educational reasons for making subjects more relevant to everyday life, it really does lead to a dilution of the pure subject in the interests of popularity. I recently had to teach genetic engineering to a foundation level GCSE student. She knew nothing of the structure of DNA, the bare bones of chromosomes and genes, but here we were discussing, in pathetically simplified terms, how genetic engineering is carried out. I do think, however [mounts soapbox] that an education system reflects the society it serves, and you only need to look at the standard of TV and Radio (with the blissful exception of Radio 4); the rise of social networking; and the national obsession with celebrity to see that the average Briton is not looking for anything very challenging out of life. The national attention span must be plummeting by the year, so it is hardly surprising that real academic graft is now considered too strenuous for our children.

[Gets down, reluctantly]

[Milla]

oh stay up there! The celeb c**p is prevalent, supposedly, but loads of us loathe it.
Meanwhile, the word "relevant" is just a new swear word, really. Just who is deciding what is relevant for whom? For the record, Katie Price is not relevant to me!
EDIT:
Wayhay! post number 2000. I need to get a life.

[Amber]

Meanwhile, the word "relevant" is just a new swear word, really. Just who is deciding what is relevant for whom?

The UK is almost unique in allowing politicians to make education policy without any reference to educationalists; or at least they ask educationalists what they think, and then dismiss it as...'irrelevant'(ouch!). Just look at last year's Cambridge Review of Primary Education. 1000s of 'experts' consulted; 3 years in the making; dismissed by Mr Balls within 12 hours of publication. 12 hours! He must have been a very fast reader.

OT:
I note that you joined almost exactly one year before I did, and I am about 1000 posts behind you. That makes 2 of us who need to get a life.

However, if you read my post under the 'netbook' thread below, you will see that I am unable to remove myself from the computer for very long at the moment.

Still OT: do you still want a netbook? We are desperate to get rid of ours!