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I recently had the opportunity to accompany a group of extremely bright, highly educated, very ambitious young French professionals ages (23-26) on a week-long professional field trip to New York with visits in companies in their sector of activity and an afternoon of presentations and debates with peers at Columbia University. All of these young and sophisticated professionals had studied English for at least 10 years with short immersion programs in their secondary education phase in England. Of the 14 persons probably only 4 were really effective in English, meaning they could: express their ideas clearly with appropriate social or professional understand native speakers with a minimum amount of repetition. Working in the field of language and communication training for the last 30 years in France I have seen the overall level increase and it is pretty safe to say that real beginners are very rare these days. Despite this overall improvement in English, the French are still lagging behind almost all other European countries. On the English Proficiency index http://www.ef.edu/epi/ France ranks 23rd out of 24 in Europe. France ranks 35th out of 60 in the world. On the EF EPI Index the English communication skills of the French actually regressed in 2012. I am not really surprised at France’s overall ranking, especially when compared to people from northern European countries who communicate effortlessly in both written and spoken English. When I communicate with Northern Europeans in English I rarely make any efforts to tone down my idiomatic language. This makes communication and transactions more rapid, efficient, pleasant and meaningful for native English speakers like myself. After 30 years in France I firmly believe that there are no “blanket” policies that could be put into place. There are just too many invisible barriers. However, a couple of things might help: The State should stop tinkering with the education system and making so-called reforms that do not address the problems. Instead, devote resources to creating smaller classes and providing real training for teachers in the psychology of language learning, given by specialists from outside the State system, to break the vicious circle of passing down the same ineffective habits from one generation of teachers to the next. Companies should wake up to the idea that e-learning is not going to help. Instead, they should come to terms with the fact that only time spent practicing the language in a real exchange with another person will bear fruit, and that a return to the volumes of hours that were awarded to staff in the nineteen-eighties and nineties, instead of the risible doses of 10 or 15 hours per year that we are now seeing, is the only way to go.
Citation preview
William BirdwellFounder and President of Birdwell Institute
I recently had the opportunity to accompany a
group of extremely bright, highly educated,
young French professionals ages (23-26) on a
week-long professional field trip to New York
City.
New York Immersion Programs
This program included visits to
companies in their sector of activity and
consisted of a series of presentations
and debates with peers at Columbia
University.
● All students had at least 10 years training
● Most had participated in short immersions programs before
Question?
How many of the 14 participants do you think
were efficient in English?
Proficiency Rate
Of the 14 French professionals probably only
4 were really effective in English!
What is English proficiency?
For me, being proficient in English means:
● Being able to express ideas clearly with
appropriate social or professional
vocabulary.
● Being able to understand native speakers
with a minimum amount of repetition.
How is this possible?
How can so many highly educated young
French professionals be so poor at the
English language?
I have seen the overall level increase and it is
pretty safe to say that real beginners are very
rare these days. Despite this overall
improvement in English, the French are still
lagging behind almost all other European
countries.
Over the last 30 years...
France Ranks
● France ranks 23rd out of 24 in Europe.
● France ranks 35th out of 60 in the world.
● On the EF EPI Index, the English
communication skills of the French actually
regressed in 2012.
The French Paradox
The French realize the importance of English
in professional life, but...
They are often content with a “good-enough”
attitude.
The French problems
● The belief that “We are not good at learning
languages” is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
● They believe that language learning is an
academic pursuit, rather than a natural form
of human behavior.
The solutions
● Finding the right mix of educational resources
● Discipline, rigor, and organization
● Develop a positive can-do-attitude “Life begins at the
end of your comfort zone”
● Think of training as a financial investment and demand
a ROI from your language service provider and yourself!
Birdwell Language Training Courses
Get up to speed with the rest of your colleagues
You can read the full article here:
http://www.birdwell.fr/en/how-does-france-rank
Visit LinkedIn Profile:
William BirdwellFounder and President of Birdwell Institute
I have over 30 years experience in intercultural
management and language training in the
business service sector. I am specialized in
professional coaching, intercultural
communication and multicultural team building.