Is continuing my language to A Level really worth it?

1. Is continuing my language to A Level really worth it?

2. ‘English is simply not enough. We cannot understand the world in English...’ ...we need to be aware as never before of other languages and of the ways in which they identify and represent their cultures’ Footitt, October 2001

3. English is not enough • What other reasons for learning a language are there? • Here are some ideas from university and year 12/13 students: • ‘It’s fun. You find out about other people and cultures. Knowing a language makes you more employable. They lead you into other subjects. You make new friends. You learn about yourself and your own country. It gives you more confidence. Great for holidays! Gives you more communication skills.’ • Still need convincing?

4. It’s a multilingual world... What have all these languages got in common? How many people in the world speak these languages as their mother tongue? French Arabic How many people in the world speak these languages as their mother tongue? Spanish Hausa How many people in the world speak these languages as their mother tongue? English Chinese (Mandarin) Did you know there are 6,912known living languages in the world? Test your knowledge, part 1... They are all spoken in more than one country and are often used as additional languages to communicate across borders. a) 341, 000, 000 a) 1, 052, 000, 000 a) 64, 860, 000 a) 150, 000, 000 a) 60, 000 a) 102, 000, 000 b) 24, 162, 000 b) 55, 000, 000 b) 358, 000, 000 b) 61, 700, 000 b) 640, 860, 000 b) 206, 000, 000 c) 10, 300, 000 c) 322, 300, 000 c) 28, 700 ,000 c) 874, 000, 000 c) 25, 000, 000 c) 1, 156, 000, 000 508, 000, 000 including second language speakers 1, 052, 000, 000 including second language speakers

5. It’s a multilingual world... Test your knowledge, part 2 - Languages of the European Union Match the language to the percentage of its native speakers in the EU Español All Others Nederlands Deutsch Français Deutsch Français Italiano Español English Nederlands Italiano English All Others

6. It’s a multilingual world... Test your knowledge, part 3 - Closer to Home A recent survey shows that over 50 languages are spoken in Portsmouth schools: Do you know how many languages are used everyday in the UK? How many languages are spoken in your community, your school, or your college? Afrikaans - Arabic - Albanian - Amharic - Bahasha Malay - Bengali - Bulgarian - Chinese - Czech - Danish - Dari/Farsi - English - French - German - Greek - Gujerati - Hakka - Hindi - Italian - Japanese - Kikuyu - Kiswahili - Korean - Kurdish - Sorani - Latvian - Lithuanian - Laotian - Malay - Malayalam - Ndebele - Nepali - Norwegian - Panjabi - Polish - Pushto - Romanian - Runyankole - Russian - Serbo/Croat - Shona - Sinhalese - Somali - Spanish - Swahili - Tagalog - Tamil - Thai - Tigrinya - Turkish - Twee - Ukrainian - Urdu - Vietnamese - Yoruba It is difficult to know exactly, but the 2001 Census of England and Wales was translated into 24 languages. One more fact...

7. Employability - give yourself the edge • This is what a top employer said he is looking for in an new employee: • social skills • ability to work in a team • communication skills • problem-solving skills • confidence • experience • open mindedness • flexibility • He gave some tips on the social side of business: • Listening is a skill • Cultural awareness pays off • Relationships make a difference • Networking is easier in the local language Learning languages gives you these skills. Speaking another language makes you stand out from the crowd. • The top employer also said: • Business is global today • English is important but not enough • You need to get noticed overseas • Foreign languages are vital

8. Your Country Needs You! It was recently calculated that the languages deficit in the UK costs our economy between £7 billion and £17 billion every year! Employers are desperate for linguists to increase trade with other countries

9. Give yourself the edge - they did! Match the nameson the left to the degreeson the right Chinese Language and Culture (1990 ish) J. K. Rowling Author European Studies (1982) Paula Radcliffe Athlete French and German (1985) Lucy Liu Film Star Jonathan Ross TV and Radio Presenter Modern European Studies (1996) Rory Bremner Comedian Greek and Latin (1999) Fiona Bruce Newsreader French and Classics (1987) Chris Martin Musician Medieval and Modern Languages (1986) Nigella Lawson TV Chef French and Italian (1990)

10. Still not convinced? Continuing with languages you can... • Join in - it’s a multilingual world • Connect with other cultures • Give yourself the edge - you need to in the global job market of the 21st century • keep your options open

11. So why study languages? This is what university and year 12/13 students said: ‘Languages enable you to travel to other countries and feel part of the culture, respect the people living there by making an effort to communicate and not feel like a tourist’ ‘Language learning helps to develop communication skills which are really vital if you’re applying for a job or just in daily life, you need to be able to communicate’ ‘A language helps you to realise that there is a world around you’ ‘Languages can provide opportunities nowadays in the UK even if you don’t want to go and work abroad because of the multicultural society we live in’ ‘A language expands your range of thinking’ ‘Languages are fun and not too difficult’

12. Thanks and Good Luck! • Take a moment to check out our sister project: • Linguacast www.linguacast.ncl.ac.uk