§ 39. Mr. Clive Bossomasked the Secretary of State for War if he will arrange for British troops stationed in Western Germany to have the teaching of the German language incorporated in their regular training programme.
§ Mr. RamsdenNo, Sir. British troops serving in Western Germany have every encouragement and facility to learn German. My right hon. Friend, however, does not consider that compulsory courses would achieve results which would justify the cost and effort involved.
§ Mr. BossomI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why?" I As the people of this country have such a bad reputation for never learning foreign languages, are not we losing an ideal opportunity to arrange for the instruction of our troops who are stationed in Germany for two or three years? Will the Minister make inquiries from the American Seventh Army, which is stationed in Germany, and which has a scheme for having the troops instructed in German for a period of three months? 1585 Would not it be a good thing for us to do the same?
§ Mr. RamsdenRegarding my hon. Friend's comparison with what the Americans do, I think it a question of degree. We have classes available, and if he knows of instances where classes are needed I should be glad if he would let me know. We may have a reputation for not being good at learning languages, but I have yet to learn of any British soldier who has not succeeded in making himself understood.
§ Mr. ShinwellWould not it be a good idea to teach some American troops how to speak English?