As one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, English can be spoken on any of the world’s continents. However, there are countries close to home which are still to learn English in a successful way. And now there is an assault battering at the old fashioned and ineffective teaching methods in France led by the country’s president, Nicholas Sarkozy. The President’s latest assault on the way English is taught means that there are more opportunities in teaching English as a foreign language within the country at schools and private language institutions.
Many school leavers are choosing to pay for English lessons at private schools to improve on what they learnt at school. In national schools, children are taught English for six years, however the majority are unable to speak the language once they have left. Conversational English is now being taught by private tutors to help people build up their ability to speak the language.
Now the President wants this method to be used in state schools instead of the traditional way. France really needs to improve its standing in the Test of English as a Foreign language because it stands only 69th out of 109 countries even though it spends 5.9% of its GDP on education. As Britain’s closest neighbour with a long history of political and economic relationships, this is a poor result.
And it is no surprise that resistance to learning English to a higher level is coming from within France. The Academie Francaise has been purging the French language of foreign words since 1635. And in terms of French culture, English imported words have been kept out of film and music for 25 years.
Some students have been scared into limiting their knowledge of English for fear of eroding the French language. but there are more and more people who want to pay for a better knowledge of English. In terms of business, no CV is complete without the ability to speak English detailed on it.
So there has never been a better time to teach English as a foreign language with new policies about to be put in place. It is the perfect destination for those TEFL teachers who would prefer to stay a little nearer home whilst still enjoying a more relaxing way of life.