Brussels, 21/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - According to a new Eurobarometer opinion poll published on 21 June by the European Commission, almost nine out of ten EU citizens believe that the ability to speak foreign languages is very useful and 98% say that mastering languages will be good for the future of their children. A separate study, however, on language skills published at the same time, highlights that there is a gap between aspirations and reality. Tests carried out among teenage pupils show that only 42% are competent in their first foreign language and just 25% in their second. This European inquiry was carried out in spring 2011 in 14 member states on a voluntary basis and it measured skills in reading, listening comprehension and writing for pupils aged between 14 and 15 years old in two of the five most taught EU official languages. Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, stated: “Multilingualism and language learning matter a great deal to people and that is something we should rejoice in. But we must also do more to improve the teaching and learning of languages.” The commissioner highlighted career opportunities that the knowledge of other languages provided, as well as personal development from learning them.
Carried out in spring 2011, the Eurobarometer survey illustrates the following trends: (1) ten years on from the 2002 Barcelona declaration, which called for at least two foreign languages to be taught, 72% agree with this objective and 77% believe it should be a political priority; (2) more than half of Europeans (53%) use languages at work and 45% think they obtained a better job in their own country thanks to their foreign language skills; (3) Nevertheless, the number of Europeans who say they can communicate in a foreign language has fallen slightly, from 56% to 54%; (4) there is a sharp disparity between member states: the proportion of pupils who are competent in their first foreign language ranges from 82% in Malta and Sweden (where English is the first foreign language) to only 14% in France (learning English) and 9% in England (learning French); (5) the internet has encouraged people to broaden their passive reading and listening skills in foreign languages; the number of Europeans who regularly use foreign languages on the internet, through social media for example, has increased from 26% to 36%; (6) countries showing the most notable increases in the proportion of respondents saying that they are able to speak at least one foreign language well enough to hold a conversation, compared to 2005, are Austria (+16 percentage points to 78%), Finland (+6 points to 75%), and Ireland (+6 points to 40%). In contrast the proportion able to speak at least one foreign language has decreased notably in several central and eastern European countries, mainly because German and Russian are no longer compulsory in school programmes. In Slovakia it has fallen from -17 percentage points to 80%, the Czech Republic -12 points to 49%, Bulgaria -11 points to 48%, Poland -7 points to 50% and Hungary -7 points to 35%; (7) the five most widely spoken foreign languages remain English (38%), French (12%), German (11%), Spanish (7%) and Russian (5%).
The European Commission wants to step up support for language learning through the new “Erasmus for All” programme in which language learning is one of the six specific objectives, emphasised Vassiliou. The Commission will propose a European benchmark on language competences by the end of 2012, which will measure member states' progress in improving language teaching and learning. (IL/transl.fl)