Two things happened on the same evening recently, both of which involved Google Translate, and both of which got me thinking: How good is good enough when it comes to conveying a message in a foreign language?

Firstly, I saw a teacher friend’s Facebook status update:

I know exactly what she meant – I’ve seen things in pupils’ work such as “Mi papá me dio un ascensor” (supposed to be “My dad gave me a lift – ie picked me up in the car”), or “Je suis un grand ventilateur de Manchester United” (it..

The UK Government yesterday announced its proposals for a new National Curriculum for England.  (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own education systems, and are not directly affected by the proposals.)

Whilst a big debate continues around how English pupils and schools should have their progress assessed and their skills and knowledge examined, language teachers have been interested to read how the government views the place of foreign language learning in the curriculum.  Here i..