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Seven out of 10 people have tried to learn a language at some point in
their life and most wish they could speak one more fluently, a survey
found.
And nine out of 10 people want their children to learn foreign
languages at primary school, said the poll for the OCR exam board.
Languages are no longer compulsory for pupils aged 14 and over.
But the government wants all primary school pupils in England to learn
a language by the end of the decade.
A survey of 1,000 people was carried out to coincide with the annual
European Day of Languages (26 September), which is organised in the UK by
Cilt, the National Centre of Languages.
The study suggested people in London were the most likely (78%) to have
studied another language, Scots were next at 74%, followed by the north
east of England (71%).
In the west of England, more than six in 10 have knowledge of another
language.
Barrie Hunt from OCR said: "People are often very negative about
Britain's grasp of foreign languages but in reality the number who can
speak a second language is impressive.
"The great travesty is that
many of these people will have no formal qualification to show their
family, friends and employers what they can do, whether they are fluent or
just able to hold a short conversation in another language."
He said OCR had devised a new language scheme called Asset Languages to
encourage people of all ages to learn languages in bite-sized amounts and
get a qualification in them.
The scheme also provides assessment for community languages spoken at
home, such as Chinese, Urdu and Punjabi.
Isabella Moore of Cilt said: "The UK needs linguists and people who can
speak a language as an adjunct to other skills.
"Employers want evidence of good communication skills, confidence and
outward-looking attitudes, so a language qualification is an important
addition to anyone's CV."
(Agencies) |
据调查，70%的英国人在一生中都曾经尝试过学习某种外语，而且大多数人都希望能够流利的说一门外语。
牛津剑桥皇家考试委员会（OCR）的民意调查显示，90%的英国人希望他们的孩子从小学开始就学习外语。
外语再也不只是14岁和14以上学生的必修课了。
但是英国政府的计划是，截止到2010年，英国所有的小学生都要学一门外语。
9月26日，为了庆祝一年一度的“欧洲语言日”，英国国家语言中心在全国范围内组织了一项1000人参与的调查。
调查显示，伦敦人已经开始学习一门外语的人数最多（78%），其次为苏格兰人（74%），再次为东部英国人（71%）。
而在英国西部，则有60%以上的人懂得一门外语。
牛津剑桥皇家考试委员会的巴里·亨特说：“人们对于英国人的外语掌握情况总是持否定态度，但事实上，英国有相当一部分人会说外语。”
“最滑稽的是，很多人都无法拿出正式的资格证明来向他们的家人、朋友和用人单位证明自己的外语水平，他们到底是能够非常流利的运用一门外语还是只能用外语进行简单的对话无人可知。”
他说，牛津剑桥皇家考试委员会已经设计了一项名为“语言财富”的新语言计划，以鼓励各个年龄层次的英国人坚持学习外语，并且可以参加相关的考试获得资格证书。
这个计划还为家庭中常用的一些社群语言提供考试评估，如汉语、乌尔都语和旁遮普语。
国家语言中心的伊莎贝拉·摩尔说：“英国需要语言学家和会说外语的各类人才。”
“用人单位看重的是应聘者的沟通技能、信心和开放的心态，所以外语资格证可以为简历增色不少。”
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-09-27 09:45
