I just read an article about the misunderstandings between the Francophones and Anglophones in Montreal, Quebec.  Apparently 80% of the "Anglos" are bilingual, and the language spoken in the area is slowly melding into a real Franglais.  Yet there is still significant barriers between the two communities.

I wonder then whether the misunderstandings come down not to your basic interactions on the street -which apparently both communities can do in both languages equally well - but rather to the difficulties in translating humour.

Humour is so important in our daily lives, dare I say especially in England.  We mock ourselves and everyone around us, unsparingly, and that give and take builds trust.  We trust that we understand that we're all joking.

Having just lived abroad, I think that the ability to joke in another language - to be able to time things in another language, and twist words subtly in another language - must be one of the last skills you pick up.  Without being able to joke, how can you build trust?

We obviously need to spend a lot more time joking in the language classroom, to build that skill more quickly.... for all of our sakes.

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in a recent trip to Thailand, Trev came across a great new concept:  the translator T-shirt.  It had all the key phrases on it "where's the loo?" - "Thai green curry - not too hot!"  - "how much?"  written in both English and Thai.  All you had to do for conversation was point to the relevant phrase.

Trev almost bought one except for the slight problem with the concept - there wasn't any translation for the answers you'd get, e.g. "second door on the left" "chicken or beef?" "100 bahts for 2".  Might make for some funny conversations though....

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I'm celebrating Mother's Day back in the Alps, sans enfants.  Though I miss them, I get such an amazing buzz being back here.  No one warned me that a family gap year could end with such an emotional tie to a new foreign place.  Gap year guides definitely need a big warning strip over the front cover:  HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.

The nice thing was running into some French friends, I managed to strike up a conversation with them comfortably, and one of them complimented me on not losing my French!  I hope I can keep that up, even if I can't live here full time....

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The Parents magazine website just sent me their daily tip, which is about how to raise a bilingual child.  In it they quote:

"In a recent Parents poll, 57 percent of readers thought that speaking a foreign language was the most critical skill for their child to develop for the future, more than double the number who said that learning a sport (23 percent) or playing an instrument (20 percent) were key."

I love hearing how language learning is being recognised as more and more important.  If we as parents actually planned as much foreign language time into our children's lives as we did sport or music, then the world would be a much friendlier place!

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Today's news was that the Government is desperately short of Modern Language teachers.  Want to know why?

A few years ago they dropped the requirement for all children to study a foreign language to the age of 16.  As a result, children unsurprisingly stopped taking foreign languages.

Then they introduced the possibility of doing the English Baccalaureate for 17 and 18 year olds.  This has proved popular.  The Bac, however, requires the study of foreign languages.

All of a sudden, then, children under 16 want to study foreign languages again.

The problem is that, as a result of policy change no. 1, there are no foreign language teachers, because no one has studied foreign languages for years.

An obvious solution to this problem, you might think, is just to recruit foreign language teachers from abroad.  After all, if it is their native tongue, you'd think they'd be darn good at it.

The only problem is that the Government also wants to restrict immigration, and is proposing that all foreigners earning less than £35k (yes, a teacher's wage) be kicked out of the country within a maximum of 6 years.

Madness, all of it!  Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhh is all I can say.  Oh, and grump...

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There is a lovely thread on Mumsnet at the moment about how poor pronunciation can cause rather embarrassing situations.

It reminded me of a time when as a teenager travelling in Hungary, I ran out of sanitary pads.  To my horror, I couldn't just to go a supermarket and buy some.  I had to go to a pharmacy and ask for them over the counter.  In the busy shop, I managed to ask for the right thing, and they understood fine. But then they asked:  how many?  And I thought about it and said "7".  They gave me seven PACKS.  I was so mortified at having seven huge packs of these very personal items placed in front of me that I just paid and ran out!

There are some similar stories on Mumsnet:  do check it out for a laugh.  :-)

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The next instalment of the French school's cultural fun is here:  Easter.

Luckily, I get this one.  I'm in charge of buying chocolate eggs, bunnies and chickadees.  They have given up on trying to find chocolate bells here in England, which are the ones that deliver the chocolate in France.

You gotta love some of the traditions we foist on our children.  Here in England, a bunny that delivers eggs, of all things.  In France, magic flying bells.  Here, it is a fairy that pays for loose teeth.  There, a little mouse.

And our innocent children love it.  Hey, anything is worth believing in if it means money, chocolate and presents, right?  I bet our respective religions would get thousands more followers if chocolate were part of the deal....

:-)

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I just read a review of the book "Wired for Culture" by Mark Pagel, which makes a startling suggestion:  that the human propensity to unite into allegiances is significantly aided by the differentiation of language.

In other words, we develop a particular way of speaking to tell the difference between "us" and "them".

It is a scary thought - that we unconsciously but still purposefully try to create divisions within society through use of language.

In this scheme of things, it is strangely comforting that learning a second language is an attempt to do the opposite - to bridge the gap between different groups of peoples.

That, or it is an even more powerful desire to belong to more than one group, and thus a move towards safety in numbers!

For those interested, here is a link to the article.

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Yesterday I went out for a walk in the park with a French friend.  I was a bit nervous that my French wouldn't be up for it but took the plunge nonetheless.

I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to (a) understand reasonably well her rapid fire talk of bookshops, education, travel and house renovation and (b) even more pleasantly surprised by the ease in which I replied.

Thinking back now I am wondering whether the act of talking while walking might have helped.  First, there is the immediate relaxation of tension that comes from the distraction of the walk.  Secondly, there must be some increased bloodflow to the brain.

Perhaps it is time to introduce walking French conversation classes.  I bet they would be a hit!

Not for children though - if it were my two, they would be out of earshot and up some tree before you could count to trois...

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James and Scott's dedicated French Saturday school team has pooled together all the parents to order some French children's books online, at a discount.  James came home with the first four weeks ago and they have been sitting on a windowsill, rather lonely and dejected.

Yesterday I dug one out finally to read to them in bed.  It was about a girl who rode atop a magic pig, who made everyone's wishes come true.  The charm of the story was that you never were sure whether the pig was really magic or not, but just believing he was magic made everyone believe their wishes could come true, so they did.

It was a fabulous story, one that we wouldn't have come across if we'd not been reading in French.

Just one more of the benefits....

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Today we invited a little French girl to travel with us to French school and back (see previous post).  This encouraged the boys to speak French, and it was nice to hear them make the effort again.  But also frustrating.

At the end of our French adventure, the boys were both speaking fluently.  Not always correctly, but fluently nonetheless.  Today, they were hesitant, confused, trying to translate from English in their heads.

We spent all that time climbing the mountain that is the French language, and having gotten up so far, we seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time just to halt them sliding back down again.

Reminds me of why I don't play tennis anymore.  When I was younger, I used to play 6 or 7 days a week, 2-3 hours a day.  I achieved a certain level of proficiency.  Now, I can only afford to play 2-3 times a week.  As a result, I cannot play to the level I once could.  Do I continue to play?  No, I have given up.  Time to try something new.

So should I let the boys give up too?  Move onto another language, where they can start from the bottom. Or battle on in French, at best treading water?

Hmmmmm

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The French school the boys attend has just announced they are looking for a treasurer to join the team.  No treasurer experience required, however.

It is tempting, and I would love to be able to contribute more to the school, which is run by a passionate group of French parents.

But that is the problem, isn't it?  They are all French.  And I'm not.  All the information will be in French.  All the meetings will be in French.

The funny thing is that, if it were me advising my children, I'd say go for it!  It'd be a great learning environment!  So much to gain, nothing to lose!

But it is me, and I'm afraid of not coping.

What a wimp!

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The boys and I went to see the latest Muppet Movie today.  It was nostalgically hilarious, and the boys seemed to like it too.  Miss Piggy lands herself a job working for Vogue in Paris, "Mademoiselle Cochonne" or something to that effect, and we get a glimpse at the Eiffel Tower.  Mercifully, her gratuitous French is no longer gratuitous!

Still, it gave the movie a little je ne sais quoi, n'est-ce pas?

Not to be missed, honest....

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Just got an email from a language learning site wishing me a Happy Valentine's Day, with a "click here" button to learn how to say "I love you" in 100 different languages.  Quite a chuckle.  Reminds me of Trev, when I first met him.  We were working in the UN and he had learned how to say "You are a very pretty girl" in at least 10 languages, courtesy of his friends....

Having said that, I think it is an awesome idea - to email you a link to a short language lesson that is pertinent to the day.  That way you get a language and culture lesson all wrapped into one.  Anyone want to take up that challenge?  I'd sign up!

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Had an interesting conversation with a friend today, who is an academic.  She said that in England it used to be possible to study both Urdu and Punjabi in secondary school, and now although both are still available, very few schools offer them.

This is especially puzzling in the more cosmopolitan/urban areas like Birmingham with such a large population of Asian families.  And quite short-sighted, given India's growing economic status in the world.  Perhaps we should be encouraging James and Scott to learn Urdu next - it might be just as useful if not more so than Spanish in the coming years!

Still, from a lover's point of view, Italian probably still has the edge.  You gotta be a bit romantic near Valentine's Day, no?

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Over a gelato at the local Italian restaurant today,Trev asked the boys which language they might want to learn next.

James immediately said "Spanish".  When we asked why, he said he wanted to visit Spain. We talked over all the other places he could visit, and he got excited about visiting Chile and Mexico too.

Scotty quietly, carefully licked over his spoonful of gelato.  When we asked him again, he said quite matter-of-factly that he spoke Spanish already, of course, from his one term of Spanish Club at school.  "Italian", he answered, eyes only for his chocolate ice cream. The way to that boy's heart is obviously and only his st omach - beware future lovers, you are warned!

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On the way to school today Scott asked me (again) when he could stop French school.  This time, I was ready with an answer.

"When you speak better than I do."

"Well, that's never going to happen, is it?" He said, matter-of-factly.  "How about we just say the 1st of December?"  You have to admit, he didn't miss a beat either.

"You can do it, Scott, you just have to work at it."  I don't think he liked that idea.

"We learn French in our English school too you know," he said.  "Just today, there was a word I didn't know."

"No, Scott."

"And anyways, we don't learn anything in French School.  We just work, have a break, and then work.  We don't even get Golden Time (play time)."

And so the conversation went - he didn't give up!  No tantrums, no upset, just tactic after tactic after tactic.  Finally, luckily, we arrived at our destination, and the conversation luckily petered out.

Soon I think I"ll need a whole armoury of battle gear to keep this up!

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My apologies to all who might have thought this site had disappeared forever into the ether.  Trev found the site management dashboard on the hosting website and had a little play, with the result that this website disappeared.  Luckily, he is a fast learner.  He didn't even have to call his little brother for help!

Well, I had a nice break, I hope you did too.

Back to work! ;-)

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This week I had a meeting with Scott's French teacher (French Saturday school).  She was lovely.  She said she was amazed at how much he had learned in only 7 months in France.  She said he understood everything perfectly.  She said he read brilliantly.  She said he fit in very well in class and always tried to take part.

There she paused.  He only has to work on his speaking, she said.  He has all the words, she said, but often it just isn't put together correctly.  For instance, he says "La colle, ca ne marche pas."

I nodded knowingly, while thinking hard.  Now, what WAS wrong with that sentence?  I wondered.

What can we do to help?  I asked, hopefully.

Well, she said, I just recap what he said, but correctly.

Hmmm, I said, that might be difficult.....

Uh oh, I thought.  Now I'm in trouble....

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There is nothing more satisfying to a miser like me than being able to use something you thought was useless.

I often make impulsive book buys, and when it comes to French ones it really is hit or miss.  I'll read the new (usually expensive) purchase once to the boys, realise it is over their heads, park it in the bookcase and try to forget about it.

Then once in a while I get back into reading French books to the boys, shuffle through the bookcase and lo and behold! That useless book is there.  This time, the boys are a bit older, a bit more savvy, and I decide to give it a try.

Tonight I found a book about the sea, with lots of lift-the-flaps that once upon a time I thought the boys would love.  Except the vocabulary was much more difficult than I expected.  Why not?  I thought, and picked it up.  Curiously, the boys loved the lift-the-flaps still, even at nearly 7 & 9 years old, and this time they could just about follow the text.

I'll now be able to milk that book for awhile - making it worth the money after all.  Phew!

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