Goodbye Erasmus
Can this be true? Has the first act of our Prime Minister been to withdraw from the Erasmus agreement, which enabled students across the EU to spend time in other countries as part of their Degree course? As a former teacher of languages I find this almost unbelievable. The main reason, it seems, was cost .Given the disastrous decline in the number of students studying languages both at A Level and for degrees, the alleged 'cost' argument rings hollow. Of course, 'everyone speaks English now', and we see evidence of this every time a politician from another country speaks. But I wonder how many of our negotiators or MPs can speak any other language fluently. As a student, I spent one term in France, and profited immensely from it. When I came to lecture at Roehampton, we introduced a requirement that those studying for a degree in a language should spend a whole academic year in the appropriate country. No longer, it seems.To list the advantages for anyone to be able to use another language with confidence would be tedious, but always remember the adage: 'They will sell to us in English, but buy from us in French' (or German, or whatever language). See David Lodge's novel 'Nice Work' for a brilliantly funny example of that.
Arnold Saxton ● 2131d31 Comments ● 2057d