CHANGING NEEDS FOR FOREIGN
LANGUAGE IN EUROPE
Given To:
Dr. Suyadi, S.Pd., M.A.
Arranged By:
Ilham Muharomi
1600888203010
CURRICULUM AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM AND DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
BATANGHARI UNIVERSITY OF JAMBI
2018
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Background....................................................................................................................3
Purpose...........................................................................................................................3
Discussion
Why do Foreign Languages in Europe Need to be Changed?.......................................4
Why Learn Foreign Language?..................................................................................5
Reference..................................................................................................................................6
1
INTRODUCTION
Background
Learning a foreign language is more than just a boost to your CV or handy for travelling.
It will make you smarter, more decisive and even better at English, says Anne Merritt.
But a missing element in the enthusiasm for new methods was a consideration of the
extent to which teaching methods addressed learners' needs.
Purpose
The researcher hopes that by writing this paper, it can help the reader's understanding
about why changing needs for foreign languages in Europe is needed.
2
DISCUSSION
Why do Foreign Languages in Europe Need to be Changed?
The upsurge in English language teaching [since die mid-1950s] was accompanied by the
introduction of new methods and materials in the classroom, particularly during the 1960s.
These changes can be called a language teaching revolution. But this revolution has taken
little account of the situation or motivation of the learners; on the contrary it has been about
how people learn and what language is. Consideration of why people learn a second language
or evaluation of results has been more or less missing.
One response to this concern was a reevaluation of language teaching policy in many
European countries in the 1970s with a view to determine such things as which foreign
languages should be taught in the school system, at what year languages should be
introducedinto the curriculum, and with what intensity (e.g,, two, four, or six class periods a
week). The status of the teaching of classical languages was also being reviewed.
In 1969, the Council of Europe (a regional organization of European countries designed
to promote cultural and educational cooperation), in order to promote the more effective
learning of foreign languages within the community, decided that:
• If full understanding is to be achieved among the countries of Europe, the language
barriers between them must be removed;
• Linguistic diversity is part of the European cultural heritage and that it should, through
the study of modem languages, provide a source of intellectual enrichment rather than
an obstacle to unity;
• Only if the study of modem European languages becomes general will full mutual
understanding and cooperation be possible in Europe.
In order to respond to these concerns it became apparent that policies could only be based
on information about societies' needs, questions that were considered at this time:
• Does the community consider it important that all its members know a foreign language,
or is this considered necessary only for certain professional domains?
• How many languages, and which languages, are felt to be necessary?
• How great is the demand for each individual language? Does everyone need the same
skills, or the same level of command per skill?
• Is there a stable needs pattern?
Although individual countries responded to these issues in different ways, one important
response was initiated by the Council of Europe, which proposed that a "unit-credit system"
be used as a framework for developing language teaching programs for adults. This was
defined as follows:
An educational system in which the syllabus, curriculum or body or material (knowledge
and skills) to be studied, learned or acquired, is broken down into a number of quantum units
of work, each with its own precise definition of the terminal behavior to be achieved by the
learner, all of the units being accompanied by a carefully constructed system of credit ratings.
3
A level of proficiency described as the Threshold Level-was described that was "the
lowest level of general foreign language ability to be recognized in the unit-credit system"
(Van Ek and Alexander 1975, 7). It was during this period that Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT) emerged as a new direction for language teaching, and it attracted
widespread interest and enthusiasm as a way of moving language teaching beyond an
obsession with the latest teaching methods and to a reexamination of basic assumptions about
the goals, nature, and processes of language teaching. (CLT is discussed further later in this
chapter.) At this point it is important to note that rather than considering die way forward in
language teaching as dependent on changes in teaching methods, what was now being
considered was the whole context of teaching and learning and the need to consider societal
and learner needs as the starting point in a reevaluation of language teaching. Once needs
were identified, learning targets could be described, as, for example, with the unit-credit
system and threshold level proposed by the Council of Europe.
Why Learn Foreign Language?
Physiological studies have found that speaking two or more languages is a great asset
to the cognitive process. The brains of bilingual people operate differently than single
language speakers, and these differences offer several mental benefits.
Below are cognitive advantages to learning a foreign language.
You become smarter
Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging
it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This skill
boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.
You improve your English
Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language:
grammar, conjugations, and sentence structure. This makes you more aware of language, and
the ways it can be structured and manipulated. These skills can make you a more effective
communicator and a sharper editor and writer. Language speakers also develop a better ear
for listening, since they’re skilled at distinguishing meaning from discreet sounds.
You stave off Alzheimer’s and dementia
Several studies have been conducted on this topic, and the results are consistent. For
monolingual adults, the mean age for the first signs of dementia is 71.4. For adults who speak
two or more languages, the mean age for those first signs is 75.5. Studies considered factors
such as education level, income level, gender, and physical health, but the results were
consistent.
Your memory improves
Educators often liken the brain to a muscle, because it functions better with exercise.
Learning a language involves memorising rules and vocabulary, which helps strengthen that
mental “muscle.” This exercise improves overall memory, which means that multiple
language speakers are better at remembering lists or sequences. Studies show that bilinguals
are better at retaining shopping lists, names, and directions.
4
REFERENCE
Richard, C. Jack (2001). Curriculum Development in Languange Teaching.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-
a-foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html (accessed on October 13,
2018)
