Reason: 237
Different languages will provide bases for different kinds of experience. Some (and particularly the major languages of national and international communication, including English) will provide a basis for action in the world as well as for learning and conceptualizing. Some (and particularly mother tongues in the early years) will be crucial at particular stages as the major means by which learning takes place. Some (particularly classical languages and those with strong literary, religious and scientific traditions) will have a major role in reinforcing understanding of heritage
Reference:
Brumfit, C. (2002) 'The role of modern languages within a language in education policy' in Swarbrick, A. (ed) Teaching Modern Foreign Languages in Secondary Schools (London: Routledge Falmer, The Open University), pp. 112-125
Related Keywords:
Communication, English Mother Tongue, Historical dimension, Learning, Personal and social development, Personal satisfaction
Reason: 315
The loss of languages is tragic precisely because they are not interchangeable, precisely because they represent the distillation of the thoughts and communication of a people over their entire history
Reference:
Mithun (1998: 189) cited in Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Communication, Diversity, Historical dimension, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Uniqueness
Reason: 317
A language encapsulates its speakers’ history. It does this, most obviously, by expressing, through the grammar and lexicon of its texts, the events which form its past. Even the most casual glance at the reference section of any library conveys the extent to which people are reliant on written language for a full sense of their origins and development, as a nation
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Historical dimension, Identity
Reason: 318
The desire to know about our ancestry is a universal inclination - but it takes a language to satisfy it. And, once a language is lost, the links with our past are gone - we are, in effect, alone
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Historical dimension, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages
Reason: 323
It is language that unifies everything, linking environmental practice with cultural knowledge, and transmitting everything synchronically among the members of a community, as well as diachronically between generations
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Culture, Historical dimension, Knowledge, Social cohesion, Sustainability
Reason: 367
In the knowledge society of the 21st century multilingualism is better. It is better for countries and states whose shared ambitions are for peace, growth and prosperity. It is better for business whose purpose is increased trade, greater competitiveness and greater employability. It is better for communities in their desire for social inclusion, mutual tolerance and an appreciation of their past and present heritages. It is better for individuals - for their sense of self and their openness to the world, for opportunities for economic and personal growth. At this time of great fear and dangers in the world, it is better for humanity in its vital quest for peace, stability and enrichment. Only through multilingualism can we really understand and appreciate the stranger
Reference:
King, L., Johnstone, R. (2001) An agenda for languages (produced by CILT for the Birmingham Conference of October 2001, http://www.eyl2001.org.uk/agenda.pdf)
Related Keywords:
Business, Economic, social and political dimension, Employability, Historical dimension, Identity, Inclusion, International relations, Knowledge, Multilingualism, National security, Social cohesion, Understanding, Values
Reason: 557
Modern Foreign Languages provides opportunities to promote: Cultural development through providing pupils with insights into cultural differences and opportunities to relate these to their own experience and to consider different cultural and linguistic traditions, attitudes and behaviours
Reference:
DFEE, QCA (1999) Modern Foreign Languages: The National Curriculum for England (London: HMSO)
Related Keywords:
Culture, Historical dimension, Intercultural competence, Personal and social development, Secondary sector

700 Reasons to study languages...