Second Languages in Other Schools

[Alidar Jarok]

I got to thinking about this recently and, since we have a pretty decent international community, I figured it made more sense to ask than speculate.

In the United States, most schools require at least two years of a foreign language. Since there's a large Spanish-speaking population in the country, most people tend to pick Spanish (no, they don't really end up learning Spanish, they get their two years and get out, but it's the idea that counts ). But I started wondering how it works in other countries.

So two questions.
Is there a requirement to learn a foreign language in school
And what language is that?

Also, if you learned one that is a bit out of the norm, feel free to post it. This thread is for everyone

 

[Canadave]

In Ontario, French is mandatory from grade 4 through grade 9, and is available as an option after that. I took it up until grade 12, but sadly I'm still terrible at the language.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Foreign languages are taught in both primary and secondary schools in Australia. However by year 12 (last year of high school) only 14% of students are still learning a foreign language. At this level he most popular languages studied are Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Latin.

My sons studied Japanese at primary school but didn't study languages in high school.

In high school I studied French for four years and German for one year.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

In Ontario, French is mandatory from grade 4 through grade 9, and is available as an option after that. I took it up until grade 12, but sadly I'm still terrible at the language.

Yeah, I guess Canada is fairly obvious what the "second" language would be. I debated whether or not it even qualifies as a second language, since the country is de jure bi-lingual, but I think it probably does. Does the inverse apply to Quebec. Do they have to take English classes?

 

[ares93]

yes, when you reach seventh grade here in sweden you get to choose between german, spanish and french which is mandatory. english is pretty much standard nowadays so its not really worth mentioning.

the same thing in hungary. except its in sixth grade you get to choose there.

i speak hungarian, swedish, english, german. and i currently study latin and russian in school. i also know some arabic, serbian and polish.

 

[Canadave]

^ In the part of Ontario where I grew up, French might as well be a foreign language.

I'm not sure about Quebec, to be honest. I think they have to take at least a few years of compulsory English, but I couldn't tell you for certain.

 

[Holdfast]

I've no idea whether there's a national curriculum language requirement at GCSE these days (I bet there isn't) but at my school we had to do French at least to GCSE level (age 16 exams), and nearly everyone still had another language in the mix for that level too (I did German, for instance). I did Latin too, but dropped that at age 14 I think.

If you do a second language here, French is pretty much the default option. Probably German second. Spanish third, I'd guess. This is all guesstimation on my part.

 

[Eyes]

In England, at least in my school, a language is pretty much mandatory up until at least GCSEs, unless you're at the lower end of the learning ladder.

Most people start learning French at some point between halfway through primary school, and the beginning of secondary.

When I got to my two GCSE years, I was allowed to choose whether to keep French or German, which I had begun learning a year before. Most secondary schools offer at least German and Spanish.

I dropped French, and did German.

I'm far from fluent in any language other than English though.

 

[Colonel Green]

In BC French is mandatory from grade 1 to 9, or at least it was when I was in school.

 

[SPCTRE]

In Germany, requirements vary between school types and federal state laws and regulations.

I went to a type of secondary school called Gymnasium with an emphasis on the modern languages - three foreign languages were required.

I had to choose between English and Latin in year 1 (I chose Latin), between English/Latin and French (I chose English) in year 3, and finally between French/English and Spanish in year 5 (unfortunately, I had to choose French as there wasn't a Spanish teacher available at that time).

So, overall, I had nine years of Latin, seven years of English, and two years of French (keeping French until year nine was optional and I hated the language, so I dropped it ASAP).

(Back then, after four years in elementary school, you had to choose between three school types, the Gymnasium with nine years being the longest and most challenging.)

 

[scotpens]

I think French should be a mandatory second language for students in all English-speaking countries, just because it sounds so damn pretty.

 

[Count Zero]

The German school system is pretty antiquated and basically divided in three school types after primary school:

• Hauptschule: ends after grade 9 or 10, depending on which state you're in, and is focused on getting people ready for vocational training. A second language is mandatory and it's usually English
• Realschule: ends after grade 10, originally conceived to prepare for more sophisticated jobs than the Hauptschule. You learn at least one foreign language, which would probably be English.
• Gymnasium: the highest school type, ends after grad 12 or 13 depending on the state you're in. At the end you obtain the certificate that lets you enter university. Requires at least two foreign languages, of which one must be taken until grade 12/13. English is usually the first one. There's a lot of choice regarding the other one (or two), French is very common, but Spanish is gaining popularity. Often, Latin is taught, too, and sometimes even Ancient Greek.

I went to Gymnasium and learned three foreign languages there: English in fifth grade, Latin in seventh and French in ninth. I'm fluent in English, have forgotten most of my French (though I'm sure it would come back to me if I needed it, and I can still read it fairly well) and Latin is a dead language, so we never actually learned to speak it. However, the combination of French and Latin enables me to read other Romanic languages to some extent. I also studied Russian for half a year but only remember a few phrases.
A lot of changes are being made to the school system at the moment and I think that children now often start studying English in primary school (which ends either after grade 4 or 6, depending on which state you're in).

 

[kustirider2]

In the UK, generally you have to take a language for the first 3 years of highschool, until you get into the GCSE (Key stage 4) group, then It's optional. They've started to introduce languages into primary schools now too. My younger sister has done 2 years of French and 2 years of Spanish, and she's only 10.

 

[TerokNor]

In my school it was English and French that you HAD to take (no other options).
I had English for 7 years (5th to 11th grade, I voted it off as soon as I could...means in 12th and 13th grade, cause I hated it so much) and French for 5 years.
Many of my friends however also had other options at their schools, mostly Latin or Spanish, sometimes Russian.
And today it often is the way, that the kids start earlier (some all ready in kindergarten or latest in elementary school) on a second language, mostly English, sometimes French, though there might also be other languages available...

TerokNor

 

[Omnius]

They teach a lot of foreign languages in high school here. English is afaik compulsory, but you're allowed to take classes in other languages as well. I also took German classes, but I despised learning the grammar.
It's also been 13 years so it got a bit rusty.
Ich kann mich verstehbar machen, aber es wurdet nicht schön klinken, oder etwas.

 

[emacs]

Is there a requirement to learn a foreign language in school
And what language is that?

in many parts of Canada, French language teachings are required for several years in grade school and at least one year in high school.

in Tokyo, Japan (not too sure about other parts of the country) English is taught for several years in high school and beyond. the courses are taught from the perspective of grammar and syntax; conversational English is not taught. the vast majority of students only learn enough to pass the course and not necessarily to become proficient.

it's not uncommon to see students / young people from regions of east Asia (i.e., Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan) staying here in Toronto, Canada for a few years to learn conversational English while pursing their academic studies and/or career aspirations.

 

[Count Zero]

I also took German classes, but I despised learning the grammar.

Weird. I always thought German grammar was very similar to Dutch grammar.

 

[nevermore]

I was required to take French in both primary and middle school. Plus 2 optional years of Latin in 7th & 8th grades. We were required to take 4 years of language in high school, and could choose between French and Spanish. I took Spanish. I suck at all of the aforementioned languages; I have no facility for it at all.

 

[Shaytan]

In France we must chose a foreign language at the beginning of the secondary school, usually English, sometimes German. Some schools might propose other languages but I've never seen that so I can't really say. We have to learn it until graduation 7 years later and often at university.

We have to chose a 2nd foreign language the 3rd year of secondary school, usually Spanish or German. I've seen some schools proposing Russian and Italian too.
We can also learn Latin or Ancient Greek in addition to the 2 foreign languages but it's only optional.

I've learnt English during 9 years and German during 5 years.

I think French should be a mandatory second language for students in all English-speaking countries, just because it sounds so damn pretty.

French is the language that should be murmured in everyone's ears at night, the world would be a better place

 

[Omnius]

I also took German classes, but I despised learning the grammar.

Weird. I always thought German grammar was very similar to Dutch grammar.

Similar yes, but 10000 times worse

French is the language that should be murmured in everyone's ears at night, the world would be a better place

la langue d'amour...