The brightest and best

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

They have to repay the loan wherever they are Davidhs. My daughter went off to South America for six months and failed to declare that she was leaving the country temporarily. The Students Loan Company hounded me on a regular basis because I was her parent.

Right growstuff, and the majority of children choose to not study languages after age fourteen. They drop languages as soon as they can. Why? Because they’re difficult, easier subjects are on offer.

Thank you maddyone.

Australia has a different kind of system.

prestbury In that case, your school was unusual. I started teaching in 1982 and, even then, some pupils weren't considered bright enough to learn a foreign language and were discouraged from continuing to public exams. I know for an absolute fact that foreign languages were the preserve of the grammar and independent schools until comprehensives became the norm.

Chewbacca I know languages are taught in schools - just not very well.

Pupils can opt out at 14 and very few continue to A level, which is the minimum required for functional ability to communicate.

but we have to stem the flow somehow, we are a small island and having to build more houses on flood planes is not helping, the coast is eroding so we are getting smaller, this could not go on. Australia has vetted ones who want to come in for years so why can't we????

Growstuff is right, modern foreign languages have been been neglected in schools with the result that fewer students are able to study languages at university. My husband was a language teacher and has observed this for years. Now fewer language courses are available in the universities.
It seems many students prefer to study media studies, legal studies ( not law, note) or Beckham studies, I kid you not!
Well qualified people have always emigrated, we’ve been haemorrhaging medics for years. No government seems to be concerned about it. They should be.

I don’t think language skills are always the issue in regards to deterring young people from studying/working abroad.
It seems almost a right of passage to go to university usually with school friends then have a gap year in Australia/NZ with a stop off in Thailand.

We should be encouraging our children to move out of their comfort zone and explore other countries and cultures.

There is a thread on mollycoddling children, reading gransnetters experiences it is crystal clear that our parenting is far different than the previous generation, as a result many young people are not as adventurous as their European counterparts.

I don’t know what the answer is and of course every parent’s priority is to keep their child safe but I feel we really need to encourage young people to push the boundaries more when it comes to travel.

As most of the brightest and best will have a University Degree and a student loan, what happens when they leave the UK.

Do they have to repay the loan or do they just swan off and leave it behind?.

Languages are being taught in schools. My GD, who is 7 years old, is being taught French at her school. 2 lessons a week, plus homework.

Not so sure about that growstuff, I attended an ordinary secondary school in the late 50's / early 60's and was taught French and German and can still handle these languages in a rough passable way. My final year at secondary also introduced me to Latin which I have found useful in later years for deciphering old documents.

We're returning to the situation, which existed 50 years ago, when only the grammar school pupils learnt foreign languages.

That's part of the story, I agree, although there's more to the poor uptake of languages.

There's no way in a million years I would want to teach languages in schools now. Teachers are treated badly and spend much of their time ticking boxes and following instructions from people who haven't a clue what they're talking about. Languages have been given a low priority in schools because they're obsessed with playing the league table games. Lack of parental support is an issue too.

It is because languages have not been taught as a priority for many years and because pupils have been able to opt out.
Therefore fewer went on to take foreign languages at degree level.
It does mean, however, that those able to teach languages are able to pick and choose their job.

growstuff I think robots could be programmed to speak any language, could be a useful tool in home care. Will they be able to drive too, to get between appointments?

The adults I've taught over the last year include a senior banker, a stockbroker, a scientist and a very senior car battery technologist. They've all gone now.

That's not true, in my experience, Missfoodlove. I have two students at the moment, who are aiming to take exams to qualify them for admission to courses in German universities. Some courses are run in English, but students need language skills for the more prestigious courses, which are free.

My daughter was an Erasmus student in the EU. My son, who is currently still at uni, was hoping to follow the same route, but it looks like he won't get the chance.

The big problem is the low take-up of degree courses in/with foreign languages and that's a direct result of the situation in schools.