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Vol/52 No/1 2013 FEBRUARY/MARCH The Linguist 31 SECTION HEADER OPINION & COMMENT Dominic Luddy asks whether the privileged position of French in UK schools is justified The French language has enjoyed a privileged position in England and, indeed, the world for centuries. Colonisation has been a significant factor, but the language has also been cherished for its use in literature, diplomacy, aristocracy, politics, charity, sport, industry and tourism. Whether it offers a unique proposition in language teaching is, however, debatable. Other languages, notably Spanish, German and Mandarin, can all stake a claim in respect of global reach and economic value. French's favoured position was cemented by the end of the 17th century, when it was widely taught among the upper classes in most of Europe. As France became the continent's most powerful state, French came to dominate in international communications, until English began to take over in the 20th century. Despite its diminished diplomatic role, it is one of the European Union's 'procedural' languages, alongside English and German. English is lexically more similar to French than to any other romance language, with the French lexicon spreading into English since the Norman conquest, and French continuing to borrow many words from English. This closeness gives both teacher and learner a sense of familiarity in using the language, and a head-start in terms of vocabulary. There are 220 million French speakers living in 75 countries and, by 2050, eight percent of the global population is expected to speak French, making it a valuable passport to the world. It is spoken natively within 21 miles of our coastline, so it can readily be practised on school day-trips and foreign exchanges. The National Curriculum for England aims to 'widen horizons' and 'raise aspirations about the world of work'. In a number of sectors, the French language is useful for employability; at times indispensable. France is Passé, présent, futur? is spoken as a native language by 420 million people, more than twice as many as French, and is useful in the USA, where it is spoken at home by more than 37 million people. Its economic value is measured in terms of the growing economies of Latin America. There are more native speakers of German in Europe than any other language. While the language does not have the global reach of French or Spanish, the proximity of Germany to the UK and the strength of its economy mean that it is arguably the most important foreign language for business. UK exports to Germany exceeded £19 billion in the year to July 2012, only £4 billion short of the USA and £6 billion greater than France. Linguistically, there is also closeness: English is a Germanic language and shares many words with German. Mandarin, as well as Arabic and Portuguese, saw a significant increase at GCSE in 2012. Given that UK exports to China increased by 19.5 percent in the year to July 2012, the country can be expected to overtake France as an export trade partner in the coming years. Each school must set its own parameters for language learning. Choosing French should not be a fait accompli. Each school has a duty to look at local businesses and community groups, geography, potential employability, prior knowledge, and many more factors besides, to decide which language is best for its young people. This article is based on an assignment for a PGCE course at the University of Greenwich. the most popular destination for tourists worldwide, with almost 80 million visitors in 2011 – 17 million more than the USA. French is an official language for Médecins sans Frontières and the International Red Cross, and international aid is important in many Francophone African and Asian nations. Other industries where French is prominent include catering, fashion and luxury goods. As a result of recent education strategies in the UK, continuity between Key Stages 2 and 3 is becoming an important issue in language learning, which at present is advantageous to French. The entitlement to primary language learning from 2014 will lead to a majority of young people starting secondary school with some knowledge of French, which the CfBT Lessons from Abroad review found to be the language most commonly taught in schools in England in 2012. In 2011, there were 141,700 GCSE French entries, compared to 58,700 for Spanish, which surpassed German for the first time, according to the CfBT Language Trends Survey. Yet take-up for French has halved since 1994, while Spanish doubled. Although the English Baccalaureate has slowed the overall decline, it has not changed the long-term trend in favour of Spanish. Spanish's popularity is commonly attributed to its global reach. It Dominic Luddy is training to be a French teacher and was previously Speak to the future Project Manager. He is on the TL Editorial Board. TL © ISTOCKPHOTO