58% of Spaniards can't access Internet information because they lack even basic English
SPAIN One of the bases of international communication is having English as one of one's languages. Report after report, however, point to the lack of it among Spaniards in general. Essential in diplomacy, tourism, commerce and finances, among many other trades, Spain lags behind in teaching or learning 'Shakespeare's tongue', as English is often referred to here. For example, the head of the General Council of Economists, Valentín Pich, says that "we have lost a lot of time on something as strategically important as this." It is generally agreed that the fact is damaging to the national economy and future generations, but it is a problem that can be solved quickly. However, it does need what Pich calls 'structural restructuring' of government policies over a period of time, about twenty years.>>>
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The deficiency in English among the young and mid-aged should have been solved ten or fifteen years ago, according to Angel Coromina, Director of Training at the Superior Council of Chambers of Commerce. Among Europeans, Spaniards lag behind everyone except Russians and Turks (who have to learn another alphabet) and are about equal to the Italians (who don't). This according to a 2011 study by Education First, a company offering language abroad studies.
IF YOU FIND THIS ARTICLE INTERESTING, USEFUL OR ENTERTAINING, PLEASE CONSIDER THE WORK, EFFORT AND COST IT TAKES TO BRING IT TO YOU. WE WOULD APPRECIATE A DONATION TO CONTINUE A FREE SERVICE.
The deficiency in English among the young and mid-aged should have been solved ten or fifteen years ago, according to Angel Coromina, Director of Training at the Superior Council of Chambers of Commerce. Among Europeans, Spaniards lag behind everyone except Russians and Turks (who have to learn another alphabet) and are about equal to the Italians (who don't). This according to a 2011 study by Education First, a company offering language abroad studies.
The European Commission reported earlier this year that up to 58% of Spaniards can't retrieve valuable information from the Internet because they lack the language resources to do so.
To counteract this lack of resources, public administrations, businesses and families spend hundreds of millions to have their staff or members taught English as a second language. Britain and Ireland are full of language schools raking in the money from people who should be better prepared. The problem lies in the schools or, if you like, in the education system itself. But it will take a great deal of time to change things there.
In the meantime, though, and in a time of severe recession, employment opportunities are being missed here and abroad, not to mention opportunities for global business. Hence, the country's economic growth will be slowed down even further because of it.
It is generally agreed, however, that those emerging from the education system, and provided they have an interest in the first place, have a fairly good knowledge of English grammar -often better than the British themselves- but can be unintelligible when speaking.
The reason for this, according to some, is that at primary and secondary school level, teachers with little if any knowledge of English are assigned to teach it. According to a Spanish parent who once worked at the Junta de Andalucía's Education Council, the classes come out of a book that is assigned by the education authorities without a lot of thought as to its content, and often with no knowledge of the language whatsoever, but who rely on the booksellers, that is, the publishing houses wanting sales, for information.
For the most part, the opportunities for students to listen to the language as it is spoken in Britain or the US, are few. In many cases, help offered in that regard is ignored or rejected out of hand. English-speaking children correcting a teacher's continual mispronunciation soon learn not to speak up because they are told off by ignorant teachers who are unable to accept that they, the teacher, might be wrong - but who probably know so but won't admit it. Adult English-speaking volunteers who offer to read to a classroom a few times a week are all too often politely told that it is unnecessary.
Happily, there are schools where such help is gladly accepted - what a shame for the rest of them.
Copyright © Alberto Bullrich 2012
To counteract this lack of resources, public administrations, businesses and families spend hundreds of millions to have their staff or members taught English as a second language. Britain and Ireland are full of language schools raking in the money from people who should be better prepared. The problem lies in the schools or, if you like, in the education system itself. But it will take a great deal of time to change things there.
In the meantime, though, and in a time of severe recession, employment opportunities are being missed here and abroad, not to mention opportunities for global business. Hence, the country's economic growth will be slowed down even further because of it.
It is generally agreed, however, that those emerging from the education system, and provided they have an interest in the first place, have a fairly good knowledge of English grammar -often better than the British themselves- but can be unintelligible when speaking.
The reason for this, according to some, is that at primary and secondary school level, teachers with little if any knowledge of English are assigned to teach it. According to a Spanish parent who once worked at the Junta de Andalucía's Education Council, the classes come out of a book that is assigned by the education authorities without a lot of thought as to its content, and often with no knowledge of the language whatsoever, but who rely on the booksellers, that is, the publishing houses wanting sales, for information.
For the most part, the opportunities for students to listen to the language as it is spoken in Britain or the US, are few. In many cases, help offered in that regard is ignored or rejected out of hand. English-speaking children correcting a teacher's continual mispronunciation soon learn not to speak up because they are told off by ignorant teachers who are unable to accept that they, the teacher, might be wrong - but who probably know so but won't admit it. Adult English-speaking volunteers who offer to read to a classroom a few times a week are all too often politely told that it is unnecessary.
Happily, there are schools where such help is gladly accepted - what a shame for the rest of them.
Copyright © Alberto Bullrich 2012
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