| Britons
and the Irish are bottom of the European league
for speaking a second language, a new EC survey
says. Sixty-six percent of respondents from Ireland
and 62% from the UK admitted not knowing any language
other than their mother tongue. This compared
with 42% across the EU and 1% in top-scoring Luxembourg.
About 1,000 people were
interviewed in each of the EU countries in November
and December last year for the survey, entitled
Europeans and their Languages.
The "Eurobarometer"
survey monitors EU progress towards the union's
long-term objective for all citizens to speak
two languages in addition to their mother tongue.
It found that 38% of Britons
asked said they spoke at least one extra language,
18% at least two, and 6% at least three. This
compared with an EU average of 56% at least one,
28% at least two, and 11% at least three.
The survey also confirmed
that English is the most widely-spoken foreign
language throughout Europe with 38% of EU citizens
able to have a conversation in English.
The government's National
Languages Strategy for England aims to provide
foreign language lessons for every eight to 11-year-old
in primary schools by the end of the decade.
A spokesman for the Department
for Education and Skills said: "We are working
to encourage a love of languages from an early
age. This will create positive attitudes to language
learning and lead to more young people choosing
to further their language studies in school and
beyond."
|
