- Cymraeg
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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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AM calls for greater urgency from Labour to close the modern languages gap with England
September 8, 2006 10:29 AM
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson, Peter Black, has called for the Labour Assembly Government to place a greater emphasis on attracting students to study modern foreign languages (MFL) at both GCSE and A level, and to increase the modern language element in the Welsh Baccalaureate.
Mr Black was speaking in the light of recent statistics that show that the number of students studying modern foreign language studies is at a low level at both levels. For instance, only 31% of 15-year-olds in Wales took at least one modern foreign language at GCSE last year compared with 46% in 1996. The comparable figure for England is 59%.
"There has been a huge decline in those studying modern foreign languages since it was made optional, said Mr Black. "I recognise that those school students who do so are achieving excellent results, and I applaud them for that. However, if Wales is to compete in Europe, competence in at least one modern foreign language cannot be limited to an elite few. Our European competitors clearly see language competence important, as anybody who has recently returned from a holiday in Europe can testify. It remains true that while you may buy in your own language, you sell in that of your customer."
"We in Wales already have the huge benefit of teaching our children two languages, and all the research makes it clear that this makes it easier to learn a third. We cannot allow the learning of foreign languages in Wales to become the preserve of elite."
"I applaud the work already being done to market the benefits of communicating in other languages to parents, employers and most important, young people themselves, but it is clear that the Labour Assembly Government must do much more if we are to close the gap with England, let alone the chasm that separates us from other countries in Europe."
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