Britons need to learn languages to compete with the world
BRITAIN’S reputation as a nation of “poor linguists” who do not value foreign languages must change.
MPs and peers have warned that foreign language skills are as important as science and maths for the country’s future.
An all party parliamentary group has called for action to boost the number of foreign language speakers.
Knowledge of other cultures is crucial for the economy, international and community relations, defence and security, it says.
Students taking foreign language degrees are at a record low
Without a “step change”, British youngsters would be unable to compete with their peers abroad.
The idea that languages were for the “intellectual or af?uent elite” must be quashed, and the MPs and peers called for all parties to make manifesto commitments to language skills before next year’s election.
Students taking foreign language degrees are at a record low and fewer than one in 10 English 15-year-olds are competent in another language.