France ranked 'worst in EU' at learning English

[denel]

Good for them. Why care for English? Go to Japan and find how many people care for English.

 

[Taygibay]

I hereby thank and concur with the people that backed cultural exception.
Heck, both the UN and the Olympic Games share French and English as
official languages although it doesn't always show! Without any disrespect
to English speakers, I would not want to live on a monolingual planet.

This said, I have to agree that most French people speak English very poorly.
However, as Jungibaaz pointed out, try finding say Americans that speak any
second language beyond the cradle of New England/East coast, California or
maybe a couple big cosmopolitan cities here and there. In most of the South,
the average person does not even speak Spanish for Pedro's sake!!!
To be frank, in mainland US, you find only English, either American or garbled
… and many only speak the latter.

Also, in France, there's more than one second language. In the East, it's Deutsch
whereas in the South it's Spanish or Italian and in pays Basque it's ... well Basque
which is darn hard or Breton in Brittany [ Breizh ]. In my own neck of the woods,
not Paris where I was born but Limousin, we have our own dying dialect :

"Pimpiroule danchave sin braje e ne chapel e cadaquo que viraje faijio ver choun augel."
-Pierre dansait sans pantalon ni chapeau et à chaque tour faisait voir son oiseau.-
​

So that quite a few French people actually speak three languages or more. English
is then the default second language of those places that have no other and is only
taken seriously by those who want to work in commerce or some such.

Last but not least, French is quite complex compared to most languages and rich
in the number of words. It makes it highly valuable for expressing subtleties of all
sorts but in turn very difficult to master. This may explain why some ( not most )
French folks don't respond well to strangers massacring it. I know American friends
that learned it in high school and still sound very strange using it ... by retirement's age!


Allez, bonjour chez vous les aminches et bonne nuit à tous, Tay.


P.S. BTW, did you guys learn Greek and Latin as I did 'cuz if not it's cheating?

P.P.S. Oui, mon Mike, le gouvernement Raffarin est tombé ( démission ) après l'échec
de la Constitution Européenne. Pas certain qu'il faille le blâmer toutefois car c'est la tra-
dition en France en cas d'échec référendaire : think De Gaulle in 1969.
Et puis, on a vu tellement pire comme cons depuis ...

 

[mike2000 is back]

I hereby thank and concur with the people that backed cultural exception.
Heck, both the UN and the Olympic Games share French and English as
official languages although it doesn't always show. Without any disrespect
to English speakers, I would not want to live on a monolingual planet.

This said, I have to agree that most French people speak English very poorly.
However, as Jungibaaz pointed out, try finding say Americans that speak any
second language beyond the cradle of New England/East coast, California or
maybe a couple big cosmopolitan cities here and there. In most of the South,
the average person does not even speak Spanish for Pedro's sake!!!
To be frank, in mainland US, you find only English, either American or garbled
… and many only speak the latter.

Also, in France, there's more than one second language. In the East, it's Deutsch
whereas in the South it's Spanish or Italian and in pays Basque it's well Basque
which is darn hard or Breton in Brittany [ Breizh ]. In my own neck of the woods,
not Paris where I was born but Limousin, we have our own dying dialect :

"Pimpiroule danchave sin braje e ne chapel e cadaquo que viraje faijio ver soun augel."
-Pierre dansait sans pantalon ni chapeau et à chaque tour faisait voir son oiseau.-
​

So that quite a few French people actually speak three languages or more. English
is then the default second language of those places that have no other and is only
taken seriously by those who want to work in commerce or some such.

Last but not least, French is quite complex compared to most languages and rich
in the number of words. It makes it highly valuable for expressing subtleties of all
sorts but in turn very difficult to master. This may explain why some ( not most )
French folks don't respond well to strangers massacring it. I know American friends
that learned it in high school and still sound very strange using it ... by retirement's age!

Allez, bonjour chez vous les aminches et bonne nuit à tous, Tay.

Agree with you 100% . I myself being of French descent(partly) and having been born/grown up in France as a child, what i have observed is that French people have very high standards. That can result in extremely high quality goods like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. It is common for the French to speak not only their native language, but English(somehow), German, and Italian as well. Some are even fluent in Japanese @Nihonjin1051 . I think the reason for their language abilities is because France has businesses that are global: fashion, cosmetics, hair and skincare products, wine, food, film, art, music, bottled water (especially Volvic), banking, hotel industry; the list is extensive. Commerce and tourism, art, fashion, wine, have made it a necessity for the French to be multi-lingual. Conventions and shows bring people from all around the world to France. It is not unusual for the French to commute to New York to run their business branches there.

Children are taught English in schools. In intermediate and high schools many choose to learn Italian, German, Latin, or Spanish. At home, it is common to have parents from different nationalities, so children grow up speaking French, English and Italian.

Perhaps you can find people in small, tucked away villages who speak only French.

Perhaps you can find people with very strong accents that could affect how they pronounce and enunciate foreign languages; much as someone in the United States with a strong Southern accent would pronounce and enunciate Mandarin and Hindi with a Southern accent.

But the French, as a nation, mainly do not have "many difficulties learning and speaking a foreign language' unlike the article tries to portray. Their strong aesthetic sensibilities, especially to the beauty in sounds and expressions which are built into their culture and in their mother language, enable them to move with grace in the world through their facility with languages.

I cant say the same for British who hardly ever speak any other Language at all Since they are complacent, given that English is de facto the world's language.





J'adore cette belle chanson qui me rappéle de très beaux souvenirs de vacances a marseilles. j'aime tellement écouter cette chanson, tout comme beaucoup d'autres des années 1970 - 90, style musique douce, comme on dit en français. Je le kiffe trop @FrenchPilot

French is a beautiful language guys and the music is very classic as well.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I
P.S. BTW, did you guys learn Greek and Latin as I did 'cuz if not it's cheating?

3 years of Latin for me

I myself being of French descent(partly)

Ditto on the part French.

 

[Aepsilons]

3 years of Latin for me



Ditto on the part French.

Hehe sactum sanctorum! Gloria In Excelsis Deo!

Took Latin as an a language elective in UC Irvine.

Agree with you 100% . I myself being of French descent(partly) and having been born/grown up in France as a child, what i have observed is that French people have very high standards. That can result in extremely high quality goods like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. It is common for the French to speak not only their native language, but English(somehow), German, and Italian as well. Some are even fluent in Japanese @Nihonjin1051 . I think the reason for their language abilities is because France has businesses that are global: fashion, cosmetics, hair and skincare products, wine, food, film, art, music, bottled water (especially Volvic), banking, hotel industry; the list is extensive. Commerce and tourism, art, fashion, wine, have made it a necessity for the French to be multi-lingual. Conventions and shows bring people from all around the world to France. It is not unusual for the French to commute to New York to run their business branches there.

Children are taught English in schools. In intermediate and high schools many choose to learn Italian, German, Latin, or Spanish. At home, it is common to have parents from different nationalities, so children grow up speaking French, English and Italian.

Perhaps you can find people in small, tucked away villages who speak only French.

Perhaps you can find people with very strong accents that could affect how they pronounce and enunciate foreign languages; much as someone in the United States with a strong Southern accent would pronounce and enunciate Mandarin and Hindi with a Southern accent.

But the French, as a nation, mainly do not have "many difficulties learning and speaking a foreign language' unlike the article tries to portray. Their strong aesthetic sensibilities, especially to the beauty in sounds and expressions which are built into their culture and in their mother language, enable them to move with grace in the world through their facility with languages. View attachment 275905

I cant say the same for British who hardly ever speak any other Language at all Since they are complacent, given that English is de facto the world's language.





J'adore cette belle chanson qui me rappéle de très beaux souvenirs de vacances a marseilles. j'aime tellement écouter cette chanson, tout comme beaucoup d'autres des années 1970 - 90, style musique douce, comme on dit en français. Je le kiffe trop @FrenchPilot

French is a beautiful language guys and the music is very classic as well.

The French language is so beautiful to hear. I get goosebumps just hearing it!

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Hehe sactum sanctorum! Gloria In Excelsis Deo!

Took Latin as an a language elective in UC Irvine.

I can't remember much of it other than the masculine and feminine stuff and like the 6 verb tenses or something along those lines.

I had the choice of 3 years of Spanish, French, Greek, or Latin.
The vast majority seemed to have picked Latin.

 

[Aepsilons]

I can't remember much of it other than the masculine and feminine stuff and like the 6 verb tenses or something along those lines.

I had the choice of 3 years of Spanish, French, Greek, or Latin.
The vast majority seemed to have picked Latin.

Latin for me, is essential in selection, because it is the root of Spanish, French, Italian and Romanian and to an extent even some English and German. To understand the basis of Latin is to understand the other Romance languages and to grasp the very foundation of classical European / Roman culture.

 

[mike2000 is back]

The French language is so beautiful to hear. I get goosebumps just hearing it!

True talk. French and Italian. I kind of prefer Italian though, even though i cant speak it. lol.

 

[Aepsilons]

True talk. French and Italian. I kind of prefer Italian though, even though i cant speak it. lol.

I prefer French. French sounds so 'Classy'.

imho

 

[Vergennes]

I prefer French. French sounds so 'Classy'.

imho

@mike2000 is back

Japanese isn't that bad.

Sadly,the only words i know are.... Konishiwa and Nihonjin.... and also hara kiri,subaru,toshiba,saké,karate,samurai.....

You didn't forget that i'll visit soon Japan.

Do Japanese people speak English ? Otherwise i'll have some problems of understanding with them...

Finally,the most civilized country in the world. Time to leave for some times the savage Frenchies.

 

[Aepsilons]

Finally,the most civilized country in the world. Time to leave for some times the savage Frenchies.

Savage ? Probably in French kissing, eh? I want to date a French girl, so bad.

Btw, i am a Francophile. I love French culture, food, language, arts, history.

 

[mike2000 is back]

@mike2000 is back

Japanese isn't that bad.

Sadly,the only words i know are.... Konishiwa and Nihonjin.... and also hara kiri,subaru,toshiba,saké,karate,samurai.....

You didn't forget that i'll visit soon Japan.

Do Japanese people speak English ? Otherwise i'll have some problems of understanding with them...

Finally,the most civilized country in the world. Time to leave for some times the savage Frenchies.

LOL Mon pote, I have to say Japan is indeed a beautiful country to visit, i'm sure you won't regret your stay there. Having been there twice, i must say it's the most organized/clean and orderly country i have been to. Plus its also ultra developed and its still the most advanced country in Asia by quite a margin even today.
I noticed there are quite a few things the Japanese have in common with Britons though. Tokyoites and Londoners especially have a lot in common, for example not speaking on the trains during morning rush hour. Modesty and humbleness are appreciated, the ability to suppress rage (especially on public transport), An odd relationship with national pride. A long, complicated history, which is often romanticised (frequently by people outside our cultures)Coldness/coolness towards strangers. Avoiding other customers in the supermarket who are looking at the thing that you want. lol

I don't know if this is related to living on a small island, or if living on islands has allowed a unique culture to evolve. For me it is more about class or status within the society. In Britain class - in terms of money, and in Japan status - in terms of age, determine how we, consciously or unconsciously, treat other people i believe.

Anyway, despite having been to Japan more than once, i cant say i speak the language either. Even though i know a few words here a there , words you would expect of a tourist in a foreign country trying to get by.lol.
things like : Arigato gozaimasu ,Arigato , Douzo, sumimasen, shitsurei shimasu ,Sayunara, Kon-nichiwa, O hayou gozaimasu, Kon-nichiwa , Konbanwa ,Oyasuminasai, Wakarimasen, Kore wa [nihongo] de nan to imasuka? Anata wa ...go wo hanasemasuka etc. @Nihonjin1051 correct me if i am wrong.D

 

[waz]

Well the British speak as much French as they do Japanese i.e. practically none. I wish I had the learned the language. It would have made my younger years so much better. Chatting up French women with my poor French, mixed with English I just couldn't get myself across many times. It did make them laugh though.

 

[Blue Marlin]

Well the British speak as much French as they do Japanese i.e. practically none. I wish I had the learned the language. It would have made my younger years so much better. Chatting up French women with my poor French, mixed with English I just couldn't get myself across many times. It did make them laugh though.

lamo! im guessing you were more of an explorer during your youth.
i remeber going to disneyland and whenever i spoke i always started of by saying jumapell....... and then i will say somthing in english and they will lok at strangley.

 

[Vortex]

Guys,

Yes French language should be saved. My children are at primary school (cm1 & cm2)... And you know what ? I often heard that the level in orthographe is going down, and down each year.

At first I was thinking that no, what is said in journal de 20h is wrong, I it's not possible...

But I discovered that it was true. Their level in orthographe is so bad that I had to take on my own to teach it them.

I remember when I was at primary school, teachers focused a lot on writing, vocabulary, orthographe etc.. But nowadays that's no more the case a part in selective schools.

Cela me fait vraiment peur pour l'avenir.