Illustration: R Fresson/The Guardian - For fluent speakers, there are clear benefits – for others, there are huge costs. Here are some ways to boost linguistic justice
Anyone spending their Christmas holidays on the European mainland will likely have observed that it is quite common to meet staff in shops and hotels who can hold a conversation in English, and to read signs and menus in the language. This fact should come as no surprise, and it is no accident: the spread of English skills in Europe is largely the result of educational policies that have intensively promoted its teaching in public schools over the past decades.