English, muh fuh, do you speak it?

Interviewing people for jobs over the past few years, I never actually had to use Samuel L. Jackson's memorable question, but there were times when it seemed appropriate. Not with the foreign candidates -- with the British ones. So it's mildly encouraging to learn that the Government's planned changes to the curriculum will involve teaching people better grammar and the use of a spell checker (or "dictionary", as we used to call it). They will also be taught that in formal settings, they should use standard English (or "English", as we used to call it).

I view with greater trepidation the plan to encourage the teaching of more languages in schools -- Mandarin, Urdu and Arabic have been mentioned. Back in my Diplomatic Service days these were among the "difficult" languages that got you extra pay if you could speak them. The idea that a country that has not been able to impart basic levels of competence in easy languages like French and Spanish would even think of introducing these much harder tongues is risible, at least until we get the teaching of English right. People who have a sound grasp of English grammar and syntax inevitably find it easier to get to grips with foreign languages, once they make the effort.

When I started going to Germany on business, I asked a German client whether it would help if I learned to speak German. His response was "no, you will never speak German as well as we speak English". Arrogant? Yes, but given our appalling track-record with languages, not unjustified. In the near term, I think the priority should not be on trying to make the British speak German as well as the Germans, or Mandarin as well as the Chinese, but on ensuring that at least we speak and write English as well as they do.