The National Centre for Languages (CILT) have announced the launch of a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of language learning across the UK. It was launched on Friday 24th September which was the European Day of Languages.

On this day schools across the UK take part in a range of different activities to demonstrate the importance of learning languages. Over 40 countries across Europe joined in to celebrate multi-culturalism through music, drama, dancing, poetry, bilingual board games, and even using Twitter for language learning. 

CILT says “The Languages Work Pledge is an online campaign for businesses and individuals to sign up and show their support for improving our nation’s intercultural and language skills for employment and the UK economy.” You can find the link to the pledge here  Languages Work Pledge

The idea is that by signing the pledge, employers, schools and others can keep up pressure on the government to keep the idea of language learning right up there on the agenda. CILT have always stressed the importance of developing intercultural skills and foreign languages regularly quoting research which shows increasing numbers of companies are looking for employees with language skills and multicultural experience.

The Times Higher Education  in a rcent article respond even more strongly and make a request to our Prime Minister (acknowledging he can speak French and his deputy 5 languages)  “No longer is it acceptable for the UK’s political class to float into international encounters in a unilingual bubble”.

At UIC we continue to see a massive rise in take up for our foreign language classes – this year an increase of something like 40% on previous years. Whether you want to learn French in London, or Japanese in London, or one of the other languages we regularly teach (Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese) then you might be interested to know we have classes starting regularly – usually every month – and this can be a simple and interesting way to re-start your language learning (or to continue it).

The discussion on language teaching in British schools continues to rumble on – the British Education secretary recently announcing the introduction of a new qualification for any students getting 5 passes at GCSE (16 year old) which include a modern language. Certainly this government seems to be right behind the idea of encouraging children to study languages. The professor of the British Academy Sir Adam Roberts describes the situation in the Independent today ‘Any moves to reverse this dismal trend, which damages UK skills and research, and the UK’s international competitiveness, deserve support. They cannot come too soon’.

There have been plenty of comments in the press ranging from ‘its a terrible situation’ to ‘I can speak 5 languages and its never done me any good’ but perhaps the most interesting from our point of view as language trainers is one that made the point that even when students do study a language and have a GCSE the level is so low that it’s practically useless. The level of a GCSE in a foreign language is about A2 on the CEFR which makes it just a bit more than elementary. Really to a very high level, and the suggestion is that when our 16 year olds meet German 16 year olds and try out their ‘fluency’ in German they are completely embarrassed and give up.

So, although we fully support the idea of learning languages and understand the implications of being part of a world culture which is not just an English speaking one the benchmark for a pass in a modern language surely has to be a little more ambitions than it is at the moment.

If you want to learn French, Spanish or Chinese then there are always other options – for example our classes at UIC. Come and have a look and see how far you can really get in a language.

When you come to study at a language school in London you really want to make sure you benefit as much as you possibly can. One of the obvious reasons to come to London is to be able to meet native English speakers – you can do this fairly easily by staying with a host family but we can offer you something extra. One of the opportunities UIC can offer its students is to take part in a language exchange where one of out international students in London to improve their English meets up with one of our (usually) British students coming to the school to learn a foreign language. Not only does it have the obvious advantage of enabling – for example a Spanish student here to learn English to meet up and practise English/Spanish with an English person learning Spanish in London. It’s always been one of our aims to get something like this up and running and now thanks to the software we have installed as our e-learning platform we are able to offer this fantastic opportunity.

All our students will be given a log in (in fact it’s the normal login for the e-learning) and one of the options they will then have is to log onto the Language Exchange or LX. Once in this area there are different choices you make to describe yourself and you language learning – for example your first language, which language you are learning, your level in the 2nd language and availability. You will then be matched with another student and given the opportunity to email them. We ask that you meet your ‘partner’ in the school on the first occasion so it’s safe and easy – but because everyone who has access t this area is already registered with UIC as a student of one language or the other then it will always be safe. After the first meeting you are free to arrange anything you want.

This service is being launched at the end of September soo make sure you are registered and you take advantage of the fantastic opportunity.

So where other schools may recommend the idea of a language exchange they might not be able to help you very much in achieving it – just telling you to go out and speak to native speakers! We, on the other hand have the perfect way for you to achieve this.

George Orwell (one of Britain’s greatest writers) said in perhaps his best known book ‘The Road to Wigan Pier” the the British are “despite their convictions of innate superiority, actually the laziest people in Europe”. He was describing a different time (the first part of the last century) but I wonder how many across Europe would still agree with this. The German ambassador to the UK, Georg Boomgaarden, said on Thursday that the numbers of British school children learning foreign languages was problematic. He didn’t actually agree with Orwell but there was a hint that he might have had some sympathies with him! He acknowledged as a good thing that language teaching had become compulsory in primary schools in the UK – and was still compulsory up to the age of 14, but then nothing. Mr Boomgaarden said “It makes no sense to make early language training compulsory and then not follow it up.” He also said  he thought England would benefit culturally and materially if there was a return to the days when modern foreign languages were compulsory for 14 to 16-year-olds. You can read the article in the Independent here.

We have often written about the differences between British school children and their contemporaries in Europe and how far behind the British children generally are in their language learning. German particularly is suffering a dramatic fall in popularity and this is potentially hugely significant when over 100 million people speak German in Europe and this represents one of the biggest trading partners of the UK.

So why not change things a little – learn a foreign language today - UIC has courses in 6 different modern languages – including German. Over the next few weeks you might see some of the “think German” campaign being promoted in the UK.

CILT (the National centre for languages) reported recently on the ever growing need for people to learn and become proficient in a foreign language. They quote the Chief Learning Manager of Deutsche Bank saying “Multilingualism is an indicator of both general mental agility and an internationalist outlook. Both of these are qualities the Bank seeks in its workforce.”. These skills are not just practical things – employers see the ability to learn a second language and the ability to study something perhaps seen as difficult  good in itself. It is also one subject which helps you communicate – another great skill to have.  The subjects students do best in at school (those getting A* at A-levels) are Maths and Latin – so anyone doing well at a language  when it is not a lnaguge they have learned at home is unusual – and more likely to get you good job offers.

And its not only the Deursche Bank which expects these kinds of skills. The ELAN report – Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise make clear that “a significant amount of business is being lost to European enterprise as a result of a lack of language skills. On the basis of the sample, it is estimated that 11% of exporting European SMEs (945,000 companies) may be losing business because of identified communication barriers”. In other words, nearly a million British businesses are losing out because they can’t recruit enough high quality graduates who speak European languages. And in the current  economic situation, where do you imagine it’s likely the recruitment will be for graduate jobs – a German or French or Italian who speaks English fluently as well as their own language or an English graduate who doesn’t speak anything except English – and maybe doesn’t even see the reason to speak another language.

Perhaps it’s best summed up by the quotation “British people think English is more important than it actually is” – this seems to be confirming what many of us fear – that British graduates don’t see  the need to bother. And if you ever needed any confirmation just imagine going to a rail station anywhere in Europe and not being able to ask for information in English – and then compare this with the likelihood of being able to ask for information in Spanish, French or Japanese in somewhere in central London – Oxford Circus tube station for example!. Absolutely no chance. And when we recently contacted the staff at Oxford Circus tube station to see if they would like to be involved in a training scheme to improve their language skills the response was typically non-interested.

So, why not come along to UIC and see if you can’t find a way of improving your skills, and giving yourself a leg up in the ever more competitive job market. You can find all the training you need at UIC – evening language classes and study alongside people from all over the world who are here to learn English – who are happy to make a huge investment in their futures.

In early 2009, the European Commission (EC) announced that they were urgently looking for interpreters with English as a native language, as they expect at least one third of their current English language interpreters to retire by 2015. So, although most people learning languages do so at school – and often because they have no choice – it seems that few of them have actually thought about the possibilities of working using a language. It’s been reported by CILT that employers value ability in a  foreign language generally but how about actually using your languages professionally?  Have a look at this clip showing what being an interpreter might actually involve.

When you are an interpreter you are professionally involved in “the transfer of one spoken or signed languages to another”. It’s a difficult profession but can offer great rewards – and not just financial. In an increasingly global business world there are always opportunities – and in the EU opportunities with community languages – as an equality issue. So, for example if you speak English and another language at home you might already have some opportunities for interpreting. There are opportunities not only in the traditional interpreting positions – in big conferences but also across the spectrum in – for example courts and doctors’ surgeries. There are job opportunities in translating one way (into your own language) or also both ways if you have sufficient fluency in 2 or more languages.

If this is something you are interested in then you should find a professional training course. There are 2 different professional associations – the Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, and they will not only be able to advise you on training centres but also on your level of fluency in the language – so it is always a good place to start.

Apart from fluency, you will also need to work well with other people whether ina  group of on a 1-1 basis. You might need to travel often, be confident in public speaking, have a good memory and able to stay calm under pressure!

But probably the best news is that the EU institutions employ large numbers of language professionals and there remains a shortage of qualified native English-speaking applicants. If you are interested in finding out a bit more and perhaps dipping a toe into learning a language or re-learning a language that you studied at school then why not give one of our foreign language courses at UIC a try. It’s an easy way to see if you have remembered anything from school or perhaps to find out if you have a talent for languages!