Speaking in Tongues: Is the UK missing out on business through lack of language ability?

Andrew Chappell       10th May 2011

It is well known that countries whose mother tongue is English struggle when it comes to foreign languages. How many times have you been abroad and managed to get by without speaking a single word of the local language? I’m sure they are numerous.  Although very convenient for us native English speakers, is it putting us at a disadvantage on the global stage? In a globalised world where it is common to find people who speak three languages or more, are we being left behind?

But, if true, why is this the case?  It must begin with how our own language is taught. From experience, we don’t tend to learn the actual linguistics of our own language and it is this depth of understanding which limits our language understanding and stops that deep understanding from being applied to learning other languages. For example, since when would a teacher lead a lesson teaching pupils how to identify the Nominative from the Accusative in English? English has the immediate disadvantage of not having genders like other languages. It is a proven fact that learning a language from a young age is extremely beneficial to a range of mental development.

The ability to form new words is much easier when young. So why then do some schools in England only begin to teach foreign languages when the pupils arrive at secondary school? They have already missed the window and are already playing catch up with the rest of the world. Furthermore a law was introduced by the last Labour government in 2004 stating that schools did not have to force pupils studying a language beyond the age of 14, meaning that a large number of pupils would be leaving school with English as their only language. Indeed 61% of pupils learnt a foreign language for their G.C.S.E’s in 2005 and that has now fallen to 44% in 2010.

However it is not just about learning the language, it is also the skills and qualities the pupil acquires whilst learning.  The Russell Group of Universities identify languages as one of the so called ‘facilitating subjects’, as well as English, mathematics, the Sciences, Geography and History. These are the subjects which these top universities prefer or require for pupils who wish to apply for one of their degree courses. Not only that but languages open doors, they present opportunities which could not exist without knowing the language. Experiencing new cultures and people from all over the world should not be underestimated; much can be learnt from just meeting people and speaking to them. These pitfalls extend beyond school into university too. It is commonplace throughout the top ‘International’ universities around the world for their students to complete a compulsory exchange semester abroad as part of their degree. In the UK there are schemes such as Erasmus (within Europe) and ties which lie outside of Europe, however these are not very popular due to the inward looking nature the students have been brought up in.

So what should be done? In essence we need to collectively place more value on learning languages. They need to be viewed as one of the ’core’ subjects students are required to learn; to begin learning them much earlier than we are doing. We also need to promote such schemes as Erasmus at universities, school exchanges and summer camps abroad for our pupils.  Steps are already being introduced by the current government, for example by introducing the ‘English Baccalaureate’.  This will be awarded to those pupils who achieve a grade C in their G.C.S.E.’s in English, Mathematics, Science, Geography or History and a foreign language (modern or classical). It was designed to be a measure against the performance tables, however I believe it should be here to stay.

We have a wealth of multiculturalism in the UK but we are not exploiting it to its best potential. Nobody should view the UK or even the US as the centre of the world. Learning languages will strengthen ties to our neighbours, both politically and economically. It should be something where the foundations are being laid now, something which needs to be built on for the future.