Because English is not enough!! Why study a language? Because English is not enough!!

Language skills in Europe

“English is simply not enough “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

Can you guess which Language he is speaking?

How many people in the world speak English as their mother tongue? 309,350,000 55,000,000 c) 187,000,000

How many people in the world speak English as their mother tongue? 309,350,000 55,000,000 c) 187,000,000 508,000,000 including second languages speakers

Not everyone speaks English 94% of the world’s population does not speak English as their first language 75% of the World’s population do not speak English at all British businesses lose millions of pounds every year because their employees can not speak a foreign language Ok here is the first reason (emphasise that it is simply a myth that everyone speaks English etc.) Ask them to guess the percentage Click to reason 2

So….English is not enough Other reasons for learning a language: You find out about other people and cultures It gives you more confidence It gives you communication skills

It’s easier to get a job with a language degree. Average unemployment rates among new UK graduates (1996-2003): German - 4.86% French - 4.93% All modern languages - 5.66% Business/admin. - 6.68% Computing - 9.33% Media Studies - 9.59% Comment about the other stats. Medicine, Education, law etc. Brings us on to our next heading: A brief overview of undergraduate provision in UK higher education. What then is the state of play with regard to language provision in higher education in this country? Well the truth is that language provision is still available in the majority of the UK’s universities and colleges of higher Education and it looks set to remain that way? We should not overlook the fact that a handful institutions have closed their language departments in recent years but the situation is not as gloomy as some might have us believe. As recently as 2002 more than 38000 students were doing languages as all or part of their degree in the UK. There are a whole range of languages on offer within our universities and colleges of Higher Education.

What jobs can you do if you speak another language? The Media Travel and Tourism Advertising and marketing Import and export (e.g. The wine industry) Engineering

You don’t have to have studied languages at university – but going beyond GCES certainly helps!

More reasons…… It gives you more confidence It’s great for holidays! You learn about yourself and your own country You make new friends

So what are you alternatives? AS / A level New language at GCSE NVQ Certificate in Business Language Competence Just learn a language for FUN! Not all schools offer all of these – need to check Specialised diploma – language module may be part Specialised diploma in Languages planned for 2011