English is by far the most widely spoken second language across Europe, but less than a third of Britons speak a foreign tongue, according to a prominent European Union survey.
A poll of nearly 30,000 people across Europe shows that while the EU has absorbed more languages through its expansion, fewer people are bothering to learn them, particularly in Britain.
Released in conjunction with the European Day of Languages, an annual celebration of linguistic diversity, the poll shows that a third of all Europeans speak English as a second language, leaving German and French a distant second and third with 12% and 11%, respectively.
In total, 47% of EU citizens claim to speak English to some extent. Just 30% of Britons, however, claim they are bilingual.
Business leaders were quick to point out the problems in the UK where immigration and expanded EU borders have brought linguistic diversity to once monolingual areas, but British pupils are wasting these new opportunities to broaden their skills.
"The UK must change its cultural attitude: we may be an island race but must embrace the world and speak its languages if we want to be in the pole position for business," said Sir Digby Jones, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
"Anyone who can clinch a deal in Argentina because of a grasp of Spanish, give directions to an Italian family visiting a tourist information office in the Lake District or work with a Chinese delegation in London for the Olympics, will be of immense value to business and Britain."
In related news, a separate survey of UK students by the National Centre for Languages (CiLT) identified 300 languages spoken by 702,000 children across England, 104 spoken by 11,000 in Scotland and 98 by 8,000 pupils in Wales.
Some of the most widely used languages are Urdu, Turkish, Chinese and Arabic, the report states, but many schools are ignoring bilingual children's capabilities by concentrating on English and a few European languages.
"Both mainstream and complementary schools underestimate the practical value of other languages for students' future careers," said Joanna McPake, of Stirling University, who led the research.
With the number of pupils continuing foreign language training in decline, schools must utilise the skills of these bilingual pupils, CiLT said, in order to keep the country competitive.
From
growingbusiness.co
