Languages

[brionon]

A study has just discovered that young children pick up languages more easily than older people.
A STUDY ? To find out what we all know? Are they Mad ?

[Gromit]

Can't find anything about a new study, do you have a link?

Do you mean a REVIEW of how languages are taught in schools. See link.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml =/news/2007/03/12/nlanguage112.xml

[wired]

The education system is in such a mess without adding to it.Where will the new teachers come from?Children are leaving school now without being able to read and write, can't we get that sorted out first? It would also be novel to hear the official language of this country being spoken by all children.

[Dom Tuk]

the same study group is also now seeking funding to establish once and for all that younger children are usually smaller in size to older children.

[Gromit]

There is bNO study!

There is a report which says we should teach children languages earlier, which seems fair enough to me.

Who exactly are mad?

[wired]

To Gromit,OK settle down, it's a review, a report, another badly thought out press release.
You seem to be the only one who's miffed!!

[kwicky]

With the EU composed of 27 countries with possibly more to follow and each bringing to the table their preferred language it makes no financial or practical sense. Why don't the best linquistic brains sit together and create a new universal language that can be taught simultaneously across the EU to benefit future generations.

A 49 letter alhabet and up to 6 character words giving 14,000,000 permutations using a script that contains many more vowels using phonics which by the way is now the preferred method of teaching reading.

[brionon]

Wired,thank -you for defending me against pedantry.

[Gromit]

Just to be Super pedant...

A study has just discovered that young children pick up languages more easily than older people. - No it hasn't

A STUDY ? - No

To find out what we all know? - No

Are they Mad ? - Quite possibly

[baremission]

Kwicky...you seriously want to eradicate the 100's of languages that are spoken in Euope today?
I object strongly to this as a Foreign language student, I am studying English(mothertongue) French, German and Spanish and i love every minute of it. Learning other languages teaches you so much more about how to use your own language.
Also, could you bear to give up some of the amazing English words we have such as, decombobulated.

Its true, children pick up languages much quicker than adults, they definately should be taught a second language from age 6/7 like in Europe.

[kwicky]

baremission no I don't it feasible to eradicate all the current languages. What I'm suggesting is that if we are to converse with other nations it would be more practicable for all Europeans to converse in a standard second language. With the growth of the internet this could even be enlarged worldwide.