1. Just over 6,500 The Importance of Languages
How many languages are spoken throughout the world?
100?
200?
300?
More than 500?
Just over 6,500

2. 138 languages The Importance of Languages
How many languages are spoken in Glasgow? 1?
12?
30?
100…?
138 languages

3. Chinese is the most spoken language in the world
The Importance of Languages
What is the most spoken language in the world?
English? Arabic? French?
Chinese? German? Hindi?
Spanish? Portuguese? Italian?
Chinese is the most spoken language in the world

4. The Importance of Languages
1/7th of the world speaks Chinese.
1/20th of the world speaks English.
1/16th of the world speaks Spanish.

5. Let’s put this into perspective.
The Importance of Languages
Let’s put this into perspective.
There are 31 people in our class.
1/7th of the world speaks Chinese = 4 people in our class.
1/20th of the world speaks English = 1½ people in our class.
1/16th of the world speaks Spanish = 2 people in our class.
Everyone else speaks a variety of languages, the other big ones being Hindi, Arabic and Portuguese.

6. Let’s put this into perspective.
The Importance of Languages
Let’s put this into perspective.
What percentage of the world speaks NO English AT ALL?
10%? 25%? 50%?
75% of the worlds population speaks no English at all.

7. So why should we learn a language?

8. It will give you more money
Learning a language can boost an average worker’s earnings by up to 20%
For a person earning the average national salary, that would mean an extra £200,000 over a working life.

9. It opens doors
Learning a language means that you will have more opportunity to go abroad for work and more excuses to go on holiday!
It makes you better at your own language too
It is a ‘communicative skill’

10. It’s good for business 60% of all UK trade is with foreign countries.
20% of British businesses have recently reported a fall in profit because…
Not enough people are speaking other languages!

11. IT’s good for our brains
It makes you smarter – you can make decisions faster
It prevents dementia
It makes you more creative
It can even give you another personality…

12. IT makes us more understanding
You can understand other cultures and other people’s point of view
It lets us know ourselves better
You become more welcoming and accepting of others.

13. It can improve your love life
A survey of 270 dating agencies found that people who speak a foreign language are more attractive to the opposite sex!

14. The following people have one thing in common …
They all speak languages !

15. French
Russian
French
French
Arabic
French
Spanish
Swedish & Spanish
French
Spanish
Italian
Russian
Greek
Latin
Chinese
& Korean
Turkish
German
Albanian

16. Let’s look at a job application…
6. Other experience/qualifications List your language skills (including English), indicating your mother tongue(s) and for other languages your degree of fluency in reading/writing/listening, etc.     List any training courses attended in the last three years (with dates, name of training provider and any certificates, etc awarded)    

17. What did the employer say?
“This job was not a role which needed languages. However, on the application form it asked about your experience and qualifications in languages, and having a language showed a commitment to learning and work.”
“The job was in insurance. Between two close candidates who applied for the job, the job was given to the person who had a language.”
“The feedback given to the unsuccessful candidate was although they were very close, the other candidate had more experience in languages. He was therefore given the job.”

19. The quiz… Q1. How many languages are there in the world? 6,500
Q2. How many languages are spoken in Glasgow?
138
Q3. What is the most spoken language in the world?
Chinese
Q4. What language does Bradley Cooper speak?
French
Q5. Name three things that languages could do for you.
Languages can make you earn more money, give you more opportunities, make your brain healthier, make you more understanding of others, can make you more likely to get a job, and can even make you more fanciable!