Latin in schools – Guardian article

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Have a rant, trot out your hobby horse, blaze away. You know you want to.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/aug/19/right-to-rome-the-debate-over-latin-on-the-curriculum?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

[Serenus]

In a time of terrorism, the rise of China and of global cross-cultural challenges, wouldn’t it be preferable we learnt Arabic, Mandarin, Urdu, Nigerian and other global languages?

There's no language called "Nigerian". The official language of Nigeria is actually English.

 

[Aurifex]

"Why not teach other forms of communication that could be more relevant: sign language, coding, living languages?"
Firstly, learning any language above elementary level rapidly becomes far more than just learning a new form of communication.
Secondly, anyone attempting to demonstrate that one discipline is more relevant than another has to first make a convincing case for what relevance consists in and why. This is where arguments for the comparative irrelevance of Latin tend to come unstuck; typically, conclusions about the goals of learning have already been made when they remain very much open to debate.

 

[cinefactus]

I for one am greatly relieved that my children, relieved from the burden of learning a dead language, are now applying themselves to such useful topics as Human Resource Managment and Business Studies.

 

[AoM]

There is a simple solution to this situation: teach Latin in all schools, or in none.

Well, that escalated quickly.

It could also be woven into the existing curriculum by emphasising its presence in existing subjects - science, English, maths, history, modern languages - reducing its need to be a standalone school discipline for everyone.

He seems to think Latin is just a list of phrases that one remembers (and then spouts off). It would be great if English teachers explicitly taught the meanings of etc., i.e., and e.g. Besides some vocabulary work, that's all that would happen. Even though Latin no longer creates native speakers, it's still a language.

 

[Ater Gladius]

Latin education in Britain aims to prepare students for Virgil and Ovid, it seems. And that means it's not "Latin language" education, but classical Latin literature.

To give a comparison, when I was learning English as a second language, I was taught specifically how to read essays, not novels, nor poetry.

 

[Imperfacundus]

This was the outcry from, it must be said, a series of white, male, probably middle-class columnists

Off to a great start with this bigoted nonsense.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Confession: I didn't read the article before posting it. I thought it was overwhelmingly likely to be one of the two articles that periodically gets written about Latin (untold treasures and potential epiphanies/overrated elitist waste of time), and I was right.

 

[Aurifex]

Latin education in Britain aims to prepare students for Virgil and Ovid, it seems.

I'm not sure where you're getting that from, Ater. Traditionally, at GCSE, A Level, and in at least the early years of undergraduate study, students are exposed to both verse and prose authors with about equal weighting.

And that means it's not "Latin language" education, but classical Latin literature.

More accurately, it's classical Latin language AND literature.

To give a comparison, when I was learning English as a second language, I was taught specifically how to read essays, not novels, nor poetry.

I'm not sure whether that's a criticism of the way you were taught ESL or disapproval of studying novels and poetry when learning a foreign language.

One thing we do know is that in the Chartered Institute of Linguists "Diploma in Translation" exams, the optional Literature paper typically has the fewest candidates and the lowest average marks when compared with the other optional papers in Business, Technology, Law, Science, and Social Science. The usual and, in my view, correct explanation for the disparity here is that literature is the most challenging aspect of a foreign language (and of one's own language) to get to grips with.

 

[MilesChristiSum]

This was the outcry from, it must be said, a series of white, male, probably middle-class columnists

Ah, it wouldn't be The Guardian would it without a cheap shot like this. It is truly the paper of choice for the Social Justice Warrior twat.

 

[Godmy]

I stopped at the second paragraph, it seems as complete waste of time. The first sentence begins immediately with stereotyping somebody with his race, typical SJW bs., which is actually racist (towards whites, surprisingly): colorblind society ftw.!