THE IMPACT OF THE COVID SLIDE: LOSS OF LANGUAGE

Lowri Amies, French, Spanish and English tutor 

Even the most talented of linguists can easily let their languages slide. People who have once been fluent, or who have lived abroad, find that their level slips if they do not practise. 

In fact, it is widely accepted that students of any subject can lose up to three months’ knowledge over the summer holidays. In my experience, for language learners, it is more like six. Language is cumulative. Without regular practice and exposure, it can slide – summer holidays or no summer holidays, COVID-19 or no COVID-19. 

The truth of the matter is, regardless of provisions made by the school for online learning, students at key points in their education will find themselves at the bottom of this slide in September – with no time to claw their way back up. 

You wouldn’t stop speaking to a child – who is learning English as its mother tongue – for six months and expect it to still be as proficient in September as it was in March. The same applies here. The problem is that the examinations will. 

With some children learning online and some in school, teachers have been pushed to breaking point trying to set level-appropriate work for all. It was always going to be an impossible task. 

Many of my younger students almost entirely stopped learning in French, Spanish and Latin – with teachers resorting to playing language games. 

GCSE students are among some of the worse affected by this. – the forgotten generation who will be expected to hit the ground running with their A Levels in September. The jump in level between GCSE and A Level takes Modern Language students by surprise every year. Already, in the past, many have needed one-on-one tuition in Year 12 in order to help them cope. How much worse for these students this year, then, who have not only been denied the opportunity to revise for examinations – something which naturally boosts their level – but also the opportunity to visit the country over the summer to practise. 

The same goes for the outgoing Year 13s, if not more so. University courses will be just as rigorous as ever – especially as their syllabuses and examinations are not regulated by a standardised exam board such as Ofqual. In fact, any students undertaking university courses are at risk. Some may have been forced to return early from gap years, or even their Year Abroad, thus losing valuable exposure to the target language. 

Let us not forget the existing Year 10 and Year 12 cohort, whose exams are coming up even more quickly. How they use their time this summer could be the difference between pass and fail. 

The good news is that something can be done – if we act now. 

There are some ‘fun fixes’ which students can start to implement straight away, such as watching films in the target language. This will broaden their experience of a range of accents and keep their ear attuned. For the more advanced, they could try putting the subtitles in the original language, rather than in English. This will allow them to match spellings to new words. 

Having the radio on in the background will also allow vocabulary to seep into their subconscious; the more one becomes aurally acclimatised to the language, the more the brain learns to identify key words. 

I would recommend this approach to students of all levels; many age-appropriate programmes on streaming services have the option to change the language. Parallel texts are also an excellent way of exposing students to new vocabulary, which can be copied onto post-it notes for display. 

However, nothing compares to having someone to support students in this, one-on-one. 

Students are often too scared to ask a teacher to revise something which they have not understood, and, with the disruptions of the past few months, the latter will be keen to forge ahead. If these areas are not assessed and addressed, learners can lose confidence – even interest. 

At A Level, new demands will be placed on students. They will be called upon to write essays on literary texts. They will be asked to debate key issues and articulate their views. They will be asked to do all of this in the target language. Having a tutor to help them get a head start will be just as key as the issues they debate. 

The same goes for the outgoing Year 13s, if not more so. University courses will be just as rigorous as ever – especially as their syllabuses and examinations are not regulated by a standardised exam board such as Ofqual. In fact, any students undertaking university courses are at risk – some may have been forced to return early from gap years, or even their Year Abroad, thus losing valuable exposure to the language of study. 

Even students who have never needed a tutor in Languages will benefit from one, now. 

Keeping the onus up on language learning is crucial, pandemic or no pandemic; the common misconception is that it isn’t. 

In a climate of uncertainty, we need to give our young people as many ‘strings to their bows’ as possible, regardless of their level. With firms increasingly taking their businesses online, reaching out to customers all over the world, a facility for language-learning will give the next generation a much-needed ‘edge’ in what is forecast to be a competitive job market. 

‘Lingua’ in Latin means both language and tongue; just as the tongue is a muscle, so too is proficiency in language. 

We need to keep it limber – especially now. 

The Covid Slide and the impact on other subjects 

The Covid Slide is not unique to Languages. To find out the impact on English, Maths and The Sciences please read our other blogs at https://mykidstutor.co.uk/blog/ 

Overcoming The Covid Slide 

Please contact Nicola at learning@mykidstutor.co.uk or call on 07887634779 to discuss how My Kids Tutor can help give your child the academic boost they need this summer.