I watched clips of the “debate” - though that’s stretching the definition. Goodwin was awful. Twelves came very well prepared and used Strand as an academic citing. Those are facts Matt - no they are opinions says Goodwin. Pretty sure anyone submitting an essay to Goodwin before he took the koolaid would have been marked down for that sort of nonsense.
I speak as the grandchild of Polish immigrants who fought against the Nazis and we’re not able to return to Poland because the Russians decided that they were suspect and liable to be shot. There was huge stigma in the UK to the Poles. So much so that many of them didn’t teach their kids Polish.
Sadly I wasn’t brought up speaking Polish as my dad was English only and mum didn’t teach us. My cousins on the other hand do speak the language.
Goodwin might also ponder the other research that multi lingualism is associated with many benefits.
I too, watched a bit (not all) of the GBN show and you're bang on, Bear. Having another language terrifies these people and it's a sad state to be in. I suppose he's quite happy with Farage's children being bilingual, though.
Oh no. I always thought we were simply jealous of people who could speak more than one language. Perhaps I had better keep quiet about my Duolingo streak now though.
I like a good read, even by those authors i don't necessarily share an outlook with. So obviously I won't be buying this one, as judging by the poor, non factual/non balanced outpourings of Goodwins usual efforts on social media and TV, it will be a dire "work".
If he's so worked up about language, perhaps he could set up English classes for the sad far right, Reform etc brigade, who appear to have a problem with written and spoken English, never mind any other language.
Wales.I know many people whose 1st Language is Welsh,so their children would be classifiedd under EAL..
Farage - 1st wife-— Gráinne Hayes (pronounced “Grawn-ya”) — is Irish Gaelic, meaning “grain” or “love.” The spelling with the fada accent reflects her heritage, which aligns with what little is known about her Irish background + so their 2 children MAY have been exposed to Gaelic.
2nd wife ,mother to 2 of his children ( who hold German passports ), is German,so EAL classification applies again.
Thank you for this well-reasoned and informative piece. I have often observed how fearful many British people seem to be of the whole concept of 'foreign languages'. They make no attempt to learn even a little of them and find hearing them in public somehow threatening. I guess it might have something to do with English being the nearest we have to a universal language, so that subconsciously people identify English as the norm and all other languages as a departure from it. But I suspect there is also an element of xenophobia in the literal sense of not so much 'hatred' as 'fear' of the 'alien'. The continuing decline in Modern Languages as a school and university subject is very worrying in this regard.
I watched clips of the “debate” - though that’s stretching the definition. Goodwin was awful. Twelves came very well prepared and used Strand as an academic citing. Those are facts Matt - no they are opinions says Goodwin. Pretty sure anyone submitting an essay to Goodwin before he took the koolaid would have been marked down for that sort of nonsense.
I speak as the grandchild of Polish immigrants who fought against the Nazis and we’re not able to return to Poland because the Russians decided that they were suspect and liable to be shot. There was huge stigma in the UK to the Poles. So much so that many of them didn’t teach their kids Polish.
Sadly I wasn’t brought up speaking Polish as my dad was English only and mum didn’t teach us. My cousins on the other hand do speak the language.
Goodwin might also ponder the other research that multi lingualism is associated with many benefits.
I too, watched a bit (not all) of the GBN show and you're bang on, Bear. Having another language terrifies these people and it's a sad state to be in. I suppose he's quite happy with Farage's children being bilingual, though.
I suspect the problem is not just speaking another language, but speaking another language while being the wrong colour...
You list four groups of people, who might be ‘EAL’, I’d like to add to the list:
* people who speak Gaelic or Welsh! Neither is a foreign language!
Oh no. I always thought we were simply jealous of people who could speak more than one language. Perhaps I had better keep quiet about my Duolingo streak now though.
I like a good read, even by those authors i don't necessarily share an outlook with. So obviously I won't be buying this one, as judging by the poor, non factual/non balanced outpourings of Goodwins usual efforts on social media and TV, it will be a dire "work".
If he's so worked up about language, perhaps he could set up English classes for the sad far right, Reform etc brigade, who appear to have a problem with written and spoken English, never mind any other language.
Wales.I know many people whose 1st Language is Welsh,so their children would be classifiedd under EAL..
Farage - 1st wife-— Gráinne Hayes (pronounced “Grawn-ya”) — is Irish Gaelic, meaning “grain” or “love.” The spelling with the fada accent reflects her heritage, which aligns with what little is known about her Irish background + so their 2 children MAY have been exposed to Gaelic.
2nd wife ,mother to 2 of his children ( who hold German passports ), is German,so EAL classification applies again.
Why are they terrified of you, Bear? Because THEY JUST CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Thank you for this well-reasoned and informative piece. I have often observed how fearful many British people seem to be of the whole concept of 'foreign languages'. They make no attempt to learn even a little of them and find hearing them in public somehow threatening. I guess it might have something to do with English being the nearest we have to a universal language, so that subconsciously people identify English as the norm and all other languages as a departure from it. But I suspect there is also an element of xenophobia in the literal sense of not so much 'hatred' as 'fear' of the 'alien'. The continuing decline in Modern Languages as a school and university subject is very worrying in this regard.