Susan Purcell's arguments for her views

In the following we have emphasised some of the most important points concerning Susan Purcell’s article “Saying Britons ‘don’t do language’ is a fallacy”. These can be helpful when you argue for her standpoints in her article.

Susan Purcell’s article is the most striking between the three, as it is not as conclusive as the others:

She believes that foreign language learning should not be discussed only in the light of economical development. She makes an interesting comparison between Britain and other European countries, focusing on the reasons why the British system does not permit the same actions as the others: 

“English is the mandatory first foreign language in 13 of the EU’s member states, but children usually opt for it even in countries where it is not mandatory.” (ll. 24)

With this, she underlines the fact that the English language has its due importance on the European continent.

At the same time, she admits that:

“…apart from Ireland, the United Kingdom is the only EU country where learning a language at school is not compulsory.” (ll. 37-40)

Although she does not try to blame it on somebody in particular, she talks about the tendency to guide students away from language learning in general:

“… with headteachers stearing pupils away fro...