Call -

Take a trip back in history

UK Lags Behind Other Countries Because of Language Skills Shortage

In today’s increasingly globalized world the need to communicate in a wide variety of languages fluently has become incredibly important. While English is still the most widely spoken business language in the world, more and more people are beginning to realise how useful the ability to communicate in more than one language can be. For most Europeans this is not a problem as being on the continent means that one is able to converse in at least three languages as a matter of the course. It is easy to understand why this is the case – most of the languages spoken in Europe come from the Indo-European language family and thus have some commonality across the board.

Furthermore, being in such close proximity to one another has forced people to learn to communicate with one another in a variety of languages. Unfortunately, across the channel people have always been a lot more isolated. This has meant that only English has generally been spoken. While this could have changed thanks to increasing connectivity, this has not happened thanks to the influence that the United States of America has had as a global super power.

Lacking Language Skills

While this may have been fine up until recently, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the lack of language skills in britain is becoming problematic and causing the country to lag behind in a wide variety of industries – from business to technology, everything is being affected. Britain needs to rectify this problem if it wants to take its place as a world leader. Thankfully, there are a number of things that can be done to help improve the language skills of the country as a whole. The rest of this article talks about some of these suggestions so that you can have an idea of what you could be doing as an individual in Britain to stay ahead of the crowd, no matter what stage of life you are in at the moment. This is in fact a warning about shortage of language skills in the UK.

Schools – Make it Compulsory

Government should begin making it compulsory for students to do more than two languages during their school years. Even if they do not do their A-Levels in anything but English, scholars should be exposed to as many languages as possible. Furthermore, where it can be afforded, one should encourage students to take an active interest in different cultures. While the best way to do this is through travel, this is not always possible due to financial constraints. In cases like these, there are still things that can be done – try watching foreign films or taking students on culinary experiences instead. One can learn a lot from the internet, making it an excellent place to start. If you are a new parent, you could always start learning a new language with your child or children. This way you prove to your offspring that one is never too old to start learning something new and you get to make sure that they learn another language and bypass the lack of emphasis on languages in the current education system.


Become Innovative

Not everyone can afford to go to language schools and learn a new language from scratch at a cost. Thankfully, with the internet you do not have to pay a cent in order to learn something new. There are a number of websites where you can do free online language courses. This is a fantastic option for most people as it gives you the freedom to feel around and find the language you enjoy the most without the financial commitment. If you decide that you really enjoy learning a particular language you can always do a proper, intense course later on. In the Capital there are a wide variety of courses like these so give them a call in order to see what is on offer as soon as you are ready. For example if you want to take some Spanish Lessons in London The Language Class might be one option for you.


It does not matter how old or young you are, learning a new language can be very beneficial. For the younger generation it can help your career – if you can speak English, French and Chinese you are far more likely to get a better job in today’s world where the Chinese are becoming leaders in industry (with a population of one billion it is also not surprising) than someone who can only speak English. For the older generation, it keeps your mind alert and prevents you getting depressed. Studies have shown that an active mind leads to a longer life. Language classes are also a great way to meet new people

 

Feedback Form

Explore now

Happy Clients

They've visited, have you?

VIctorian Britain are a really cool service. They tell you where all the best places are to go if you want to explore Victorian Britain. They gave us all the information we needed to plan our trip!
By
Helen Green
Manchester

Happy Clients

I wanted to teach my kids more about our rich history. I planned a trip with Victorian Britain so that my kids could see the sites and learn about the history, they really loved it! 
By
Dylan Marshall
Portsmouth