Guttural German appeals more to secondary pupils than r-r-r-romantic French. Biddy Passmore reports
BOYS are keener to learn German than French because they think French is feminine and not “cool”, according to new research.
In the words of one bright 14-year-old boy: “French is the language of love and stuff” while German is “the war, Hitler and all that”.
The study, by a team from Exeter University, found that both girls and boys were keener to learn German than French but the difference was more marked with boys.
The evidence suggests that schools would do better to offer German as the first foreign language rather than the tongue of our nearest neighbour.
The researchers studied the motivation of 228 pupils in the first three years of three secondary schools in the south-west of England.
They found pupils became less keen to study languages as they got older. Girls were generally more motivated to learn than boys. Girls were more inclined to put effort into work that appeared tedious, while boys needed to find enjoyment in it. Several explained that it was not “cool” for boys to like languages.
A Year 9 girl said: “They can do it if they put half a mind to it, but it is just they do not want teasing from the other boys.”
The students did not consider it important to learn a foreign language, nor did they find the lessons very interesting or enjoyable.
But boys especially showed a stronger liking and desire for German than French. Studying German gave pupils a more positive attitude towards their teachers, a stronger sense of parental support and a more cohesive group feeling, as well as boosting self-esteem.
Pupils tended to explain the boys’ preference for German by saying that French was a more feminine language and German more masculine. “I reckon girls are really into French; they like the way that French sounds more than boys do,” said a 14-year-old girl.
Previous research has suggested that boys find the guttural pronunciation of German more accessible than do girls. Boys also consider German more useful than French for industry and commerce.
“French is the Language of Love and Stuff” by Marion Williams, Robert Burden and Ursula Lanvers, British Educational Research Journal, Vol 28 No 4, 2002 (wwwtandf.co.ukjournals)
