August 24, 2007

Is a foreign language needed?

With the GCSE exam results out there has been a significant drop in students taking up a foreign language, and the reason given is that having a foreign language skill does not make any difference when applying for a job. The blame for the fall is being laid fairly and squarely on the doorstep of employers.

Yet there does appear to be a mixed message, because with more businesses and in particular small businesses opening up trading links with foreign companies, a language skill would be very useful indeed. In fact it could mean the difference between getting a deal and losing it to a rival company who have staff that can communicate directly with foreign partners.

The figures speak for themselves; the number of students taking GCSE French fell by 8.2 per cent, while German fell by 10.2 per cent. Yet if we look at successful businesses abroad, they have staff that speak at least one foreign language, which could be why they are successful and as they speak English, staff here do not have to.

Source [FT]