There are a lot of films in foreign languages. If you know foreign languages, you can understand films without any help

It is necessary to learn foreign languages. That's why pupils have got such subject as a foreign language at school. Everybody knows his own language, but it is useful to know foreign languages.

I learn English, because I understand that I can use it. For example, if I go to England I'll be able to speak English there. If I go to the USA, I'll speak English too. English is used not only in England, but also in other parts of the world.

I learn English because I want to read foreign literature in the original. I know and like such English and American writers as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll and others. I understand that I must learn English. If I know English well, I'll be able to go to the library and take books by English and American writers in the original.

I like to travel. But it is difficult to visit countries, when you don't know the language of these countries. If I know the language of the country, where I am going to, it will be easy to travel there. If I want to ask something, I can do it in English.

I like to read books. And I like to read newspapers, too. If I know, for example, English I'll be able to read English newspapers and magazines. Knowledge of foreign languages helps young people of different countries to understand each other, to develop friendship among them. For example, we have a foreign exhibition in Moscow. If I know a foreign language, it is easy for me to visit this exhibition.

You can see a lot of advertisements, signboards, names in the streets. They are in foreign languages. Very often they are in English. If you know English, you can read and understand them.

Now we buy many clothes from other countries If you know English well, you can read something about the size of this or that thing. It is clear for you what it is made of.

There are a lot of films in foreign languages. If you know foreign languages, you can understand films without any help.

There are international friendship camps in the world. If you can speak foreign languages, it will be easy for you to visit such camps and speak with the boys, girls, men even they don't know Russian.

In short, I understand that I have to learn English in a proper way and I try to do it.

Foreign languages in the UK

Jeremy Bohl is a student from Oxford University. He studies Russian arid French. He's working now as an English teacher at the Municipal Nayanova University in Samara. Jeremy kindly agreed to tell us about his native city, Manchester, and answer our questions about the UK.

Our reader from Penza asks: Which foreign languages do the British study in universities and schools and how widespread is the study of the Russian language?

The British tend to have a poor reputation for learning foreign languages and many people are very lazy1 in this respect. This is the result of the expectation that most people abroad will speak English, so why bother2 learning another language? Surely everyone will understand the phrase, “Do you speak English?” The learning of a foreign language at school is compulsory, however until the age of sixteen when British children are obliged3 to take GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) the first major public examination in the lives of British children. The language that is preferred has traditionally been French and I would say that this is still the case, Latin was compulsory as well but many schools have ceased to teach it. More recently languages such as Spanish and Italian have become increasingly popular as first languages instead of French, perhaps because of the popularity of these countries as holiday resorts4 for many of the British.

Schools usually offer a second language to their pupils, the most widespread being German, Spanish and Italian. Languages such as Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Greek are less widely taught. As for myself, at the age of fourteen, I was offered the choice of learning Ancient Greek, German, Russian and Spanish. I chose Russian, as it seemed the most interesting to me. The opportunity to learn such a language is unusual, and at my university there are roughly eighty to a hundred people studying Russian. Russian in Britain is an unusual language to learn and there are few universities that teach it. Oxford and Cambridge have the biggest departments but other universities are equally good and hopefully Russian will become more popular as the country continues to open up to foreigners. Abroad Languages.com represents the best language schools over the world. On the following pages, we provide information about their several language programs and offers for everyone interested in studying foreign languages abroad. We promote excellent foreign language courses and our wide range of language classes gives you the opportunity to compare all of our language schools in only one website, before you finally make a decision on a language trip that fits best with your objectives.

Learning a foreign language at a language school in the country where it is spoken enhances the learning process: it is easier to learn, more effective, much more fun and furthermore gives you greatest experiences when you live in a foreign culture. If you wan to Learn English as a second language or Spanish, Learn French or German, Learn Italian or Russian, Learn Arabic or Portuguese, Learn Japanese or Chinese, let us guide you finding out which language course best suits you!

Every child in England will start learning a modern foreign language in primary school from the age of seven, the government announced today.

From 2010, it will be a compulsory part of the national curriculum for children from the age of seven to 14 to study a modern foreign language, as the government attempts "to put languages at the heart of learning", said the education secretary, Alan Johnson.

The recommendation to put modern foreign languages on the primary school timetable was made by Lord Dearing today in his final report which followed his comprehensive review of school languages policy.

But the report did not recommend a return to making a foreign language a compulsory choice at GCSE level.

A move in that direction, according to Lord Dearing, would not guarantee more children achieving high standards in modern languages.

He recommended that all schools should aim to have at least 50% of pupils sitting a modern language at GCSE. But, he said, schools should look at developing "alternatives to GCSEs for a range of learners and creating more overseas visits and work experience".

Modern languages were dropped as a compulsory subject for 14 to 16-year-olds in 2002, despite protests from teachers and other organisations with an interest in promoting language.

This year's GCSE results reflected a fall in the number of teenagers choosing to study a modern language. The number of candidates studying French fell by 13.2% compared with last year, while those teenagers opting for German fell by 14.2%. There was also a small fall in students choosing GCSE Spanish.

Welcoming today's report, Mr Johnson said: "We are about to embark on a renaissance in languages in schools and beyond."

He said: "I want languages to be at the heart of learning. The earlier you start learning a language the better. Making language study compulsory from seven to 14 will give pupils seven years to build their knowledge, confidence and experience."

The Dearing report said an extra £50m a year was needed to help primary and secondary school teachers deliver the new compulsory modern languages curriculum.

In his report, Lord Dearing suggested that secondary school language teachers could support primary school teachers new to teaching a modern language. This was a model tried out in some Scottish schools in the 1990s before it became compulsory for all 10 and 11-year-olds to learn a modern language from 2001.

The introduction of "immersion courses" in modern languages - which would help children transferring from primary to secondary school - should also be developed, he recommended.

Lord Dearing said he also wanted to see the number of specialist language colleges increased from 300 to 400 and suggested that in future, language indicators should be included as a measure in school league tables.

He said: " The results of the consultation on my interim report were clear - headteachers agreed this was not an issue for a quick fix.

"We learnt from pupils during the consultation that one menu does not fit all. We want to see pupils, whatever their backgrounds, achieve at levels appropriate to them - recognising their achievements and providing greater choice."