European Day of Languages (EDL)
What Languages Mean to People
This two-minute video was shot in the streets of London on the 26 of September 2006. It is a survey, but the street is rather noisy so I transcribe the questions on the video.
Do you know today is the European Day of Languages?
Do you think it is important to speak other languages?
Is English the most important language to know?
Would you like to speak other languages?
What percentage of the population in the world speaks native English?
What will you use English for?
Hey! What would your answers be?
On a side note-
Sometimes, we dream the whole world could speak the same language. How simple things would be, right?
OK. Suppose your wish is granted. But that unique universal language is neither English nor your mother tongue.
Now tell me:
How much do you think the world would lose for not understanding you?
Now you know what you are missing.
Related Post
Check our previous post celebrating the EDL:
701 Reasons to Study a Foreign Language
Linktribution
My side note reflection is one I heard on a fantastic presentation called Cultures at the far edge of the world, by the explorer Wave Davis. I got there via an EFL teacher, David Deubelbeiss.
Accessibility
Find the interview video at YouTube.
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This two-minute video was shot in the streets of London on the 26 of September 2006. It is a survey, but the street is rather noisy so I transcribe the questions on the video.
Do you know today is the European Day of Languages?
Do you think it is important to speak other languages?
Is English the most important language to know?
Would you like to speak other languages?
What percentage of the population in the world speaks native English?
What will you use English for?
Hey! What would your answers be?
On a side note-
Sometimes, we dream the whole world could speak the same language. How simple things would be, right?
OK. Suppose your wish is granted. But that unique universal language is neither English nor your mother tongue.
Now tell me:
How much do you think the world would lose for not understanding you?
Now you know what you are missing.
Related Post
Check our previous post celebrating the EDL:
701 Reasons to Study a Foreign Language
Linktribution
My side note reflection is one I heard on a fantastic presentation called Cultures at the far edge of the world, by the explorer Wave Davis. I got there via an EFL teacher, David Deubelbeiss.
Accessibility
Find the interview video at YouTube.
Labels: languages
posted by Claudia Ceraso at
September 26, 2007
2 Comments:
I hope that the "European Day of Languages" will encourage many people to learn a new language. Especially in the United Kingdom where the interest in learning language seems to be declining.
Did you know that four schools in Britain have introduced Esperanto, the neutral international language, in order to test its propaedeutic values?
The pilot project is being monitored by the University of Manchester, and I believe the project deserves academic appraisal.
An interesting video can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670
By
Anonymous, At
8:58 am
This is great info to know.
By
Anonymous, At
4:25 pm
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