BBC Take Away English (Language

有些人觉得学外语这件事既有趣又实用。但一项研究发现，目前正在学习外语的英国中学生人数与本世纪初相比下降了 45%，导致这一变化的因素有哪些？青少年的外语水平是否会影响他们的国际竞争力？在英国，哪几门外语的热度近年来有明显的提升？本集Take Away English通过讲述因学习外语而获益的几个真人真事，分析外语学习的重要性。

foreign language---from BBC
> 本文音频戳这里 <

article

As you probably know, learning a foreign language is sometimes challenging. But it can also be fun. We spend hundreds of hours at school trying to get our tongues round different vocabulary and grammar in order to earn a qualification. But learning to speak a second language is more than just passing an exam – it opens doors to new opportunities, helps you to communicate with others and makes travelling overseas more fulfilling.

It might come as a surprise that, according to research by the BBC, the number of teenagers learning foreign languages in UK secondary schools has dropped by 45% since the turn of the millennium. German and French have fallen the most. While these languages from two of the UK's closest trading partners have declined at GCSE level, there has been a noticeable surge in some others, such as Spanish and Mandarin.

Another survey of secondary schools suggests a third of students have dropped at least one language from their GCSE exam options. There are many reasons for this, including a perception by some students that languages are difficult. Getting to grips with the lingo of another country can certainly be a challenge and some pupils think 'Why bother?' when English is spoken by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Others have questioned the need for a second language when translation technology is advancing.

Matthew Fell, chief UK policy director for business group the CBI, has told the BBC that "The decline in language learning in schools must be reversed, or else the UK will be less competitive globally and young people less prepared for the modern world." But even for those who are keen to study another language, the opportunity is being reduced. In Scotland, for example, foreign language subjects are being squeezed out of many secondary school timetables with some head teachers blaming pressure on the curriculum.

However, some native English speakers have told the BBC about the benefits of speaking another tongue. Cassandra Scott, from Edinburgh, studied three languages in her final year at school. She is now a freelance translator in Edinburgh, and says "Learning languages at school really set the course for my career."

vocabulary

foreign language 外语
get your tongue round something “舌头转过弯来”，正确发出…音
vocabulary 词汇
grammar 语法
qualification 资格证书，文凭
second language 第二语言
open doors to something 为（新事物）敞开大门，使…成为可能
millennium 千禧一代，千禧年
German 德语
French 法语
noticeable 明显的，显著的

---

surge
n. 汹涌;大浪，波涛
v. 汹涌;起大浪，蜂拥而来

---

Spanish 西班牙语
Mandarin 普通话
perception 知觉，观念
get to grips with 理解，掌握
lingo 外语
translation 翻译
be keen to 热衷于...
foreign language subject 外语学科
be squeezed out of 被...挤掉
blame pressure on... 怪罪于...
curriculum 全部课程
native English speaker 英语为母语者
tongue 语言
freelance translator 自由译者，翻译家
set the course for 为…指明方向
career 职业

make sentences

1. Having a degree in Economics certainly opens doors to jobs in the banking sector.

2. I thought my Italian penfriend said she was building a house, not moving house! Her message must have got lost in translation.

3. My son has chosen to study three languages at school so he can eventually get a job as a translator at the UN!

4. I just can't get to grips with this new computer software, I'm going to have to phone IT support.

5. Although I speak Russian with my wife and her family, my mother tongue is actually English.

question

Which languages have seen the biggest decline in British students learning them?

answer

In the UK, the number of teenagers learning foreign languages in UK secondary schools has dropped by 45% since the turn of the millennium, with German and French falling the most.

@BBC Learning English