Knowledge of Modern Languages
SIR,-1t would perhaps seem ungracious to take Mr. Harold Nicolson's charming article in the Spectator of September 28th too seriously. It is, however, so full of sound knowledge and common-sense that I wish he would broadcast in career articles to parents and educationists the views he expresses so amusingly in his 'essay Perhaps they would listen to him as they never listened to me when I used to try to dissuade mothers from arranging for daughters to " specialise " in French when they had an inadequate knowledge of English, in the vain hope that mediocre French would enable them to get a bettor job.
Girls can hold good posts and do interesting work if they are intelli- gent, dependable, and can write and speak their own language with persuasive facility. But school-certificate French is not enough to qualify a girl for a post in the'export department of a manufacturing firm— and thee posts they generally scorn—still less does it help her to hold the coveted secretarial post in a London fashion-house or foreign embassy.
It is admirable for pupils with the necessary talent to study foreign languages and appreciate the literature of another country. But for the
average pupil it would be wiser 40 devote the five or six hours available each week to the study of her own language so that she may, at least, enjoy the literature of her own country and speak and write ger own language with ease. The proportion of girls leaving school who are able
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