Languages for employability
There is a UK-wide languages skills gap which has far-reaching consequences for our social and economic development and for young people’s future prospects in a multilingual world. Without the opportunity and encouragement to learn other languages and experience other cultures, we impede young people’s ability to engage with their global peers and contribute effectively both multilingually and interculturally. The summary below by Alice Campbell-Cree (a policy analyst for the British Council) highlights the range of issues which this raises:
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- Research for the Department of Business shows that deficient language skills and the presumption that international business partners will speak English costs the UK economy about 3.5 per cent of GDP (or £48 billion a year).
- A study which asked the views of more than 600 employers found that UK nationals without language skills lose out not simply because they are limited in their ability to communicate, but also as a knock-on effect of having restricted access to overseas work experience, a lack of international business sense, a failure to appreciate that other cultures have different ways of doing things and a mistaken belief in the global importance of British culture.
- Language competence is far more than just one tool in the box, it’s a prerequisite and a facilitator for the development of a wide spectrum of other vital capabilities and attributes. Lack of language skills has been identified as the major reason young people do not take up opportunities to gain international experience.
- UK employers and business leaders report growing concern with graduates’ international cultural awareness.
- 74 per cent of 500 business leaders surveyed by Think Global and the British Council worried that young people’s horizons are not broad enough to operate in a globalised economy.
- 39 per cent of employers surveyed in the 2017 joint CBI-Pearson Education and Skills Survey were dissatisfied with graduates’ international cultural awareness, up from 30 per cent the previous year – the language deficit is a key barrier to overcome.
(Campbell-Cree, British Council, 2017)
This business-case for languages as a key skill for work is reiterated by Bilingualism Matters in their careers’ pamphlet, ‘Sell Your Language Skills’:
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- Only 6% of world speak English as a first language; 75% do not speak it at all
- 76% of UK employers are not satisfied with young people’s language skills
- Two thirds of businesses cite language skills as a barrier to expansion
- Eight out of ten companies worry that cultural differences affect their work
- Poor language skills cost the Scottish economy £591 million a year
(Beveridge, Bilingualism Matters, 2015, P2)
Today’s young people, regardless of their career choices, are entering into a world which is increasingly globalised, with a high degree of international mobility and interaction with people from all over the world. Language learning is an increasingly common education priority for many countries with the aim for young people to be near fluent in two or more languages by the end of their schooling. This is reflected in European Union statistics on bilingualism with 22 European countries reporting that over 60% of adults (aged 25 – 64) know one or more foreign language compared with 34% in the UK (Eurostat, 2016). If internationalism, interculturality and multilingualism are the new global norms, then we do our young people a significant disservice if we do not equip them with the skills to thrive, compete and succeed in this multilingual world.
The incorrect assumption that the rest of the world speaks English can result in a false perception that anglophones do not need to learn another language.
This is a mindset which needs to be challenged as it fails to understand the broad range of skills required to operate multilingually and interculturally. Disengaging with language learning because of a false assumption that most of the rest of the world speaks English puts our learners and our society as a whole at a significant social, cultural, and economic disadvantage.
The 1+2 Languages policy in Scotland seeks, in part, to respond to these economic and social issues and to prepare young people for a global economy where language skills are critically important. This ongoing commitment to language learning as key priority in education is reiterated in the Scottish Government report, Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education: A Delivery Plan for Scotland (2016, p12) which states:
“We will take action to help young people develop the skills and knowledge they will need in the workplace in particular in the areas of STEM, digital skills and languages.” (Scottish Government, 2016, p12)
In terms of specific languages which are considered most in demand by employers, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report on the basis of their 2019 Education and Skills survey that:
“French (54%), German (51%) and Spanish (50%) were the languages most commonly cited as most in demand. All 3 languages have seen a year-on-year rise in employer demand since 2016.” (CBI, 2019, P26)
Further to this, the British Council report, Languages for the Future (2017) uses 10 indicators related to economics, geopolitics, culture and education, to state that the ten most important language for the UK to be a ‘truly global nation’ (2017, p.1) in terms of having language skills for business, travel and higher education are Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese and Russian.
There is value, however, in learning any language and whilst particular languages may be in demand for certain roles or careers, the transferable skills which we develop when learning one language enable us to learn a second or third more easily. Having had an experience of language learning we are better placed to understand the process, key approaches, and our own strategies, and to have the confidence to learn other languages in future. For schools, this means that developing any language is of value, and that learner understanding of their language learning strategies, and the wider skills they develop through language learning, are of key importance.
The wider skills developed through language learning are highly regarded by employers. They demonstrate a broad range of competences including engagement with the world around us, resilience, mental agility, and adaptability. Bilingualism Matters summarise key skills associated with speaking more than one language:
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- Understanding other languages improves awareness of cultures at home and abroad and encourages a truly global mind-set
- People who speak multiple languages tend to be better at negotiating and taking other people’s perspective
- Knowledge of other languages is associated with enhanced teamwork and communication skills in your own language
- Speakers of multiple languages perform better on some memory tasks
- Research also suggests advantages in switching between different tasks
- Knowing another language is linked to advantages in focussing attention and ignoring irrelevant information
- Language learners are good problem solvers – especially if you have lived abroad
- Time spent immersed in another culture learning to think in a new language can improve self-reliance and flexibility
- These advantages apply to people who started learning a language at high school or later, as well as those who grew up in bilingual families
- All sources agree that ability to communicate is more important than “perfect”, native-like fluency
(Beveridge, Bilingualism Matters, 2015, P2 – P3)
Understanding this wider range of skills associated with learning another language to a high level is useful in considering how these skills could be useful across a range of (language related or non-language related) career paths.
