Parents
lacking the foreign language skills increasingly important for work are being
urged to team up with their children to challenge a bi-generational skills gap.
Adults
who left their language-learning at the school gates and children who opt out
of languages at GCSE level represent two groups missing out on a highly
demanded skill.
Rosetta
Stone, an award winning language-learning software company, is using the back
to school period to highlight how parents can take the initiative.
Tom
Adams, Chief Executive Officer at Rosetta Stone, said: “Parents and their
children can team up to learn, to help boost language skills – either forgotten
since school or dropped early in learning. Whether collaborating or throwing
down a competitive challenge, the new school year is an ideal time to set goals
and find innovative ways to stick to them.”
Uptake
of modern languages at GCSE is reported to be at a 20-year-low (see link
below). But language skills are becoming ever more valued in the workplace as
global communication and expansion is prioritised. The Confederation of British
Industry has reported that more than a third of companies (36%) recruit
employees specifically for their language skills. The majority of employers
(74%) are looking for this conversational competence rather than full fluency.
Recently
released exam results prompted another round of debates on the UK grading
system. Taking the initiative to learn outside the classroom can build self
esteem, as well as broadening the prospects of adults and children in their
study and career.
Advances
in the variety of ways languages can be taught mean the learning curve is more
about interaction than the grammar tables some parents may remember. Rosetta
Stone is a industry-leading program which uses technology to surround learners
with the language they want to learn, replicating the way they learnt their
first language as a child, without translation.
The
back to school period 2009 is a prime time for language learning for pupils, as
2010 is set to hail the start of modern language teaching in primary schools,
while the National Centre for Languages is running a million-pound programme to
encourage teenagers to learn languages. Equally, adults looking for career
progression can strengthen their position during the recession’s competitive
market by showing the motivation to learn new skills.
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