Why study languages?

What is COLT? Community and Lesser Taught Languages MMU Manchester University Salford University Bolton University UCLAN

Why are you here today? To discover some new and exciting languages To experience university life To think about why languages are useful To enjoy yourselves. Languages are fun!

Do you agree with this point of view? Let’s test your knowledge... Why do I need to learn a language when everyone speaks English?

It’s a multilingual world… The percentage of the world’s population that does NOT speak English is... a) 10% b) 75% c) 50% a) 10% b) 75% c) 50%

“English is simply not enough. We cannot understand the world in English…

…we need to be aware as never before of other languages and of the ways in which they identify and represent their cultures” Footitt, October 2001

English is not enough What other reasons for learning a language are there? Here are some ideas from university and year 12/13 students: It’s fun you find out about other people and cultures knowing a language makes you more employable they lead you into other subjects you make new friends you learn about yourself and your own country it gives you more confidence great for holidays! gives you communication skills… Still need convincing?

It’s a multilingual world… Did you know there are 6,912 known living languages in the world? Test your knowledge, part 1…

It’s a multilingual world… How many people in the world speak these languages as their mother tongue? FrenchArabic (all varieties) a) 64,850,000 b) 640,860,000 c) 25,000,000 a) 150,000,000 b) 206,000,000 c) 1,156,000,000 a) 64,850,000b) 206,000,000

It’s a multilingual world… How many people in the world speak these languages as their mother tongue? EnglishChinese (Mandarin) a) 309,350,000 b) 55,000,000 c) 187,000,000 a) 1,052,000,000 b) 358,000,000 c) 876,000,000 a) 309,350, ,000,000 including second language speakers c) 876,000,000 1,052,000,000 including second language speakers

It’s a multilingual world… What have all these languages got in common? They are all spoken in more than one country and often used as additional languages to communicate across borders

It’s a multilingual world… Test your knowledge, part 3 – Closer to home Do you know how many languages are spoken by young people in England… Scotland… Wales… 300 languages 104 languages 98 languages

It’s a multilingual world… Test your knowledge, part 3 – Closer to home A recent survey shows that over 129 languages are spoken in Manchester schools: Afrikaans Akan Arabic Albanian Amharic Armenian Asante/Twi Assyrian Bahasa Malay Bajuni Baluchi Barombi Bemba Bengali Berber Binna Brava Bosnian Bulgarian Chichewa Cantonese Creoles/Patwa Czech Danish Dari/Farsi Dutch Edo Efic Efutop Eggon English Esan Finnish Flemish French Fujianese Ga Gaelic German Greek Gujerati Hakka Hausa Hebrew Hindi Hindko Hungarian Iban Ibo Idoma Indonesian Icelandic Italian Japanese Kachi Kannada Kanuri Kikuyu Krio Kuku Korean Kurdish Limba Lingala Luba Luganda Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Maldivian Malay Malayalam Mandarin Mandinka Marathi Mirpuri Mongolian Mendankwe Mende Namwanga Ndebele Nepali Nikhonde Norwegian Oromo Otjiwambo Oriya Panjabi Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Rundi Rwanda Romanian Russian Serbian Shona Sign language Sindhi Sinhalese Somali Sotho Spanish Swahili Swazi Swedish Sylheti Tagalog Tamil Thai Telugu Tigrinya Tonga Tswana Turkish Turkmen Ukrainian Urdu Urhobo Venda Vietnamese Welsh Wolof Xhosa Yemba Yoruba Zulu

It’s a multilingual world… Test your knowledge, part 2 - Languages of the European Union Match the language to the percentage of its native speakers in the EU 24% 16% 11% 6% Nederlands Español Italiano Français English Deutsch All others Deutsch Français Italiano English All othersEspañol Nederlands

Today you will have a taster session in a new language and take part in a cultural activity from another country Look at the statements. Can you guess which language or country they are talking about? This language is spoken in India and is the official language of Pakistan It is one of the top five economies in the world and is a world leader in fashion It is the number one spoken language in the world It is the official language of over 20 countries in the world It is the community language most widely spoken by school children in England This country is developing very quickly and is becoming a global market Urdu Italy Chinese Arabic Urdu China

Why these languages? I won’t meet people who speak these languages because I won’t visit these countries for holidays. I am never going to need these languages…

Wouldn’t you like to visit here?

Or go shopping here?

Or sample some of these?

Or eat some of this?

Do you know where these places are? All these photographs were taken in Manchester Living in the North West you will have plenty of chances to use these languages

Give it a go! Try some of what you learn today in your local take-away, restaurant or shops, or practice with your friends and neighbours.

People who speak more than one language have an advantage in life! Employers are always looking for people with language skills. If you speak more than one language, even if not fluently, your brain is more flexible and better at many important tasks than someone who only speaks one language. With the Olympics coming up, people with languages will be in demand, to communicate with the athletes and tourists who will descend on London. But I already speak one of these languages...

Employability: give yourself the edge This is what a top employer said he is looking for in a new employee: social skills ability to work in a team communication skills problem-solving skills confidence experience open mindedness flexibility Learning languages gives you these skills Speaking another language makes you stand out from the crowd

Employability: give yourself the edge The top employer also said: Business is global today English is important but not enough You need to get noticed overseas Foreign languages are vital He gave some tips on the social side of business: Listening is a skill Cultural awareness pays off Relationships make a difference Networking is easier in the local language

Give yourself the edge… they did! Match the names on the left to the degrees on the right: J. K. Rowling Author (Harry Potter) Paula Radcliffe Athlete Lucy Liu Film star Jonathan Ross TV and Radio Presenter Rory Bremner Comedian Fiona Bruce Newsreader Chris Martin Musician (Coldplay) Nigella Lawson TV Chef Chinese Language and Culture (1990) European Studies (1982) French and German (1983) Modern European Studies (1996) Greek and Latin (1999) French and Classics (1987) Medieval and Modern Languages (1983) French and Italian (1986) J. K. Rowling Author (Harry Potter) French and Classics (1987) Paula Radcliffe Athlete Modern European Studies (1996) Lucy Liu Film star Chinese Language and Culture (1990) Jonathan Ross TV and Radio Presenter European Studies (1982) Rory Bremner Comedian French and German (1983) Fiona Bruce Newsreader French and Italian (1986) Chris Martin Musician (Coldplay) Greek and Latin (1999) Nigella Lawson TV Chef Medieval and Modern Languages (1983)

Why study languages? This is what university and year 12/13 students said: “Languages enable you to travel to other countries and feel part of the culture, respect the people living there by making an effort to communicate and not feel like a tourist” “A language expands your range of thinking” “Another language helps you to realise that there is a world around you”

Why study languages? This is what university and year 12/13 students said: “Language learning helps to develop communication skills which are really vital if you're applying for a job or just in daily life, you need to be able to communicate” “Languages can provide opportunities nowadays here in the UK even if you don't want to go and work abroad because of the multicultural society we live in” “Languages are fun and not too difficult”

Continuing with languages you can… Join in – it’s a multilingual world Connect with other cultures Give yourself the edge – you need to in the global job market of the 21st century Keep your options open

Convinced? English is really not enough

The format of the day Programme for the day A language taster session in a language you haven’t studied before A language quiz Two cultural workshops Student ambassadors will show you around