The 'Why should I bother with another language' attitude does not work any more, says EU education Commissioner
The Independent, Richard Garner, Education Editor, Friday 18th October 2013
Britons can no longer rely on the rest of the world speaking English to get by in the world of business or work, the European Education Commissioner warns.
Androulla Vassiliou cited figures which showed the UK languishing at the foot of a European languages league table - the EU had set a target of 50 per cent of people speaking two foreign languages fluently - yet in the UK only nine per cent of 15-year-olds spoke one foreign language. That compared with more than 80 per cent of 15-year-olds in the Netherlands and Sweden, who topped the table.