PODCAST: The UK languages crisis - what can we do about it?

We face a UK languages crisis as GCSE numbers plummet and our confidence in learning languages crumbles. In episode 3 of The Language Revolution Podcast, I ask Thomas Bak why, and what we can do about it. We Brits have a terrible reputation for learning languages these days, yet this hasn’t always been the case. The problem is that everybody speaks English now so we have reached a period of ‘linguistic inertia’. Can we find our way out of it again and embrace our linguistically diverse society and history?

Did you know that we spoke French in Britain for 600 years, and before that we spoke German? The grammar and spelling of English are pretty bonkers sometimes, aren’t they? Why is light not spelled as lite? And why is there a silent ‘b’ in debt? The history of our language explains the origins of ‘unspellable’ words and seemingly illogical grammar. We used to study Latin and Greek at school not only to understand those languages, but to enhance our knowledge of English. Languages are transferable skills that are part of a well-rounded education, informing our understanding of science, history, geography, literature, music and art.

However, over the last century we have eroded our knowledge of our rich linguistic heritage and reached a period of linguistic deprivation. Deep-seated and prejudiced ideas about monolingualism are the norm, and multilingualism is seen as unusual or problematic. The census question about languages is a prime example of this monolingual prejudice. This in turn this leads to incorrect advice being dished out to multilingual parents. Professionals tell parents to stop speaking their family language at home in order to help their children make progress in English.

Evidence for a multilingual approach
Here we examine the evidence that shows how speaking more than one language supports acquisition of further languages, including English, and why it is important to educate our educators about the benefits of maintaining the ‘home’ language for EAL children. We also propose a plurilingual approach to learning languages in primary and early years. If you compare how we teach the sciences and STEM with how we teach languages, it seems logical to change our whole approach right from the start. This would benefit the children’s overall understanding of literacy and how languages work.

One day, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, our children will understand how they are all born linguists and ready to learn any language from birth. Listen to episode 1 of the podcast to learn how we learn languages.

The UK is well-placed to be at the forefront of language education and linguistic expertise. We just need to retrain our thinking. Vive la révolution!