Why languages are important?

Why Languages?• You enjoy learning languages.

• You would like to work or travel abroad.

• Language skills are important for many companies and other organisations.

• A knowledge of language is highly valued by employers and universities.

Our most popular languages….

•French

•German

•English

“Spanish is simply not enough. We cannot understand the world in Spanish…

…we need to be aware as never before of other languages and of the ways in which they identify and represent their cultures”

It’s a multilingual world…Do you know there are 7000 known living languages in the world?They are all spoken in more than one country and often used as additional languages to communicate across borders…

It’s a multilingual world…Languages of the European UnionMatch the language to the percentage of its native speakers in the EU

24%

16%16%

16%

11%11%6%

FrenchGerman

SpanishEnglish

Italian

DutchAll others

German

French

Italian

English

All othersSpanishDutch

One language is not enoughWhat other reasons for learning a language are there?Here are some ideas from university and a secondary school 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 communication skills…

Still need convincing?

It can even improve your love life!

•A survey of 270 dating agencies found that people who speak a foreign language are more attractive to the opposite sex!

Where could languages take me?: JOBS

• Learning a second language French, German or English makes you really employable.

• People who speak a language earn on average 12% more from their job than people who don’t!

• It gives you the edge in the job market!

Employability: give yourself the edgeThis is what a top employer said he is looking for in a new employee:• social skills• ability to work in a team• communication skills • problem-solving skills• confidence• experience• open mindedness• flexibilityLearning languages gives you these skillsSpeaking another language makes you stand out from the crowd

Fancy a job in the UK? Ever heard of this lot……..?

• Christian Dior (Perfume)

• L ’Oréal• Michelin (Tyres)• Peugeot, Renault• EDF Energy

(Electricity)• Air France• Bugatti (sports

cars)

• Just a few French firms who have offices in Britain!

Fancy a job in the UK? Ever heard of this lot……..?

• Audi, Volkswagen,BMW

• Joop• T-Mobile• EON Energy • Aldi• Hugo Boss• Lufthansa (airline)• Puma• Adidas

• Just a few German firms who have offices in Britain!

JK Rowling = French and Spanish

Ronaldo = Portuguese+Spanish+English

Chris Martin = Greek and Latin Arsène Wenger = English,

Spanish, German

Shakira= Portuguese +English+Spanish+ Italian

Gwyneth Paltrow = Spanish

Gary Lineker = Spanish + Japanese

Take away one main thing from today….

If you want to improve your job prospects, WHATEVER you want to do…..

Learn a language!!!!