Although examples of effective foreign language education exist across the world, this article focuses on the language education programs of Europe. Because the globally influential countries of Europe are packed so closely together, inhabitants are at a considerable advantage if they are proficient in more than just their native languages.
According to a 2004-2006 European Commission action plan by the Commission of the European Communities, “the ability to understand and communicate in other languages is a basic skill for all European citizens.” (See "The Importance of Foreign Language Education" for more on this.) For this reason, European countries have adopted systems of language education that promote proficiency in many languages.
These systems work primarily by beginning foreign language education at young ages, offering varied languages taught by qualified instructors, and applying distinct standards for language education and proficiency.
Starting Foreign Language Education Early
Perhaps the most applauded feature of Europe’s foreign language education programs is that they begin language education early. In nearly all European countries, according to the 2008 report, "Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe," students are expected to begin foreign language instruction in primary school. Ireland is an exception, where foreign language is not a compulsory subject at any level. Irish students do, however, learn two languages in school: Irish and English, neither of which is considered a foreign language. Students in Belgium and Spain are often provided foreign language instruction at the pre-primary level.
While it is not necessarily representative of typical European education programs, consider Luxembourg’s foreign language program. According to the 2004 article “Language learning: A worldwide perspective” in the journal Educational Leadership, by the time students reach sixth grade, they have already undergone education in both oral and written Luxembourgish, German, and French. It is worth noting, however, that while European foreign language education begins at a young age, the amount of time dedicated to foreign language instruction is often smaller at the primary school level than at the secondary level. Despite the number of hours of instruction, beginning second language learning at a young age is crucial to developing language proficiency, according to Susan Lang’s 2009 article, “Learning a second language is good childhood mind medicine, studies find” in the Cornell Chronicle Online.
What Languages are Studied Most in Europe?
In 2002, the Barcelona European Council wrote in the Official Journal of the European Communities article “Detailed work programme on the follow-up of the objectives of Education and training systems in Europe,” “everyone [European citizens] should, as a general rule, be able to speak two foreign languages.” Although learning a second foreign language is not yet required in most of Europe, it is certainly encouraged. When a student reaches secondary school, he or she may opt to begin education in another foreign language. It is at this level that a student may decide to pursue non-European languages such as Chinese, Turkish, and Arabic or less widely used European languages like Dutch.
Although European education offers instruction in many different languages, English is clearly the favored second language. In all but two countries in Europe – Luxembourg and Belgium – English is the most commonly taught second language in primary schools, according to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.
Learning English offers several distinct advantages to European students. The 1997 European Education article “Foreign-language education” gives examples that include the ability to understand popular entertainment of which the United States and England are major exporters and the ability to comprehend primary sources of academic material. Behind English, German and French both occupy the position of second most commonly learned languages.
Teaching Standards for European Foreign Language Instruction
Foreign language programs in Europe benefit from a set of standards for both education and assessment. In the late 1980s, the Council of Europe published a document, titled "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment," aimed at providing a proper framework for European foreign language education.
In 2001, a European Union Council Resolution advocated the use of “Common European Framework…” as a standard for foreign language assessment. The document describes itself as “providing a common basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe.”
By coordinating the curricula between different levels of education, these standards have helped develop consistency in foreign language instruction in part by defining precisely what constitutes proficiency in a variety of languages. With all of these factors working for the European systems (i.e. early education combined with a comprehensive and well-defined curricula), students are receiving excellent foreign language instruction.
References
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. "Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe." Brussels, Belgium: Eurydice network. 2008.
Andy Luttrell - I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology at the Ohio State University after having completed undergraduate education at Eastern ...
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