Secondary school pupils aren’t taking modern languages. I can’t claim to be surprised at this news: in 2004 the Labour government made it non-compulsory to learn a foreign language after the age of 14 and the invitation to dump vocabulary tests and listening exercises has been gratefully received. What an error. Having carelessly dropped Spanish, German and finally French when I was at school, I am now enrolled on not one, not two, but three evening courses. The most exciting is Thursday night: Hindi Stage 1.
The Statesman is Kolkata’s most venerable English language newspaper, read throughout West Bengal and beyond. It is my memory of working in its dilapidated headquarters in Chowringhee Square that has drawn me – now back in London and nostalgic for that city – to learn Hindi. It’s slow progress. I’ve been attending classes since last autumn and I would still be hard-pressed to have a conversation that didn’t revolve around siblings, furniture or pets.
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