HC Deb 11 January 2001 vol 360 cc1233-4
11. Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham)

What steps he is taking to promote the European year of language in schools. [143469]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mr. Malcolm Wicks)

The Government are doing a great deal to promote and support the European year of languages. We have appointed the Centre for Information on Language Teaching (CILT) to manage the UK's contribution to the year. It has produced a broad and inclusive programme of opportunities for people of all ages to participate in a wide range of events. Many of these are aimed specifically at schools. They are set out in a comprehensive publication entitled "Languages for Life—the UK programme", which is available from the centre.

Mr. MacShane

Merci beaucoup! for the answer, but is my hon. Friend aware that, according to the BBC, as of next year, more than half of the exchanges on the net will not be in English; and that the conservative approach to working or travelling abroad—that one just keeps speaking English and if the foreigners do not understand, one starts shouting at them—is no recipe? We cannot have a monolingual Britain in a global economy. Will my hon. Friend, as Education Minister, pay particular attention to the need to start language teaching in primary schools, because we are far too old, and after the age of 13 or 14, people are too self-conscious? [HON. MEMBERS: "Speak for yourself."] I am speaking for myself. I am far too old. We need to start in primary schools. That is the recipe to ensure that we have a Britain that can function in the rest of the world and speak more than the rabid English that is all the Tories are capable of.

Mr. Wicks

My hon. Friend will never be too old; he grows more enthusiastic with age. However, I certainly take the point, and that is why one in five of our primary schools, on a voluntary basis, are teaching languages. The internet and e-mail enable more and more of our schoolchildren and our schools to twin with other children and schools elsewhere in Europe to make all of this possible.

As part of the European year of languages, the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Jacqui Smith), is leading from the front by learning Spanish; so felicidades to her.