Once again we are seeing reports in the media that Brexit is having a negative effect on British students learning a foreign language at school. Apparently, some parents think that it’s pointless because the UK is leaving the European Union.
I’ve discussed this in a recent blog, but think it’s worth returning to this. Having another language – or two or three – is never pointless. And, when we do leave the EU, there will be even more reason for our kids to learn a language, as we learn to compete on a world stage. We will need people to translate, to negotiate, to write contracts, to speak to customers and to generally carry out our business abroad. Leaving the EU means we will have to do these things for ourselves now, rather than relying on the EU machine to do it for us.
Learning one language makes it easier to learn others. Once you have a grasp of say, Italian, it’s much easier to learn Spanish or another one of the Romance languages. That’s because you learn how language works and start to recognise the common roots (etymologies) of words. Romance languages are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, not just Europe and the Western Hemisphere. That’s a lot of potential business partners.
All of us can gain from learning a language whatever our ability or age. We know that it’s good for our brains too. The rewards are great – and will be greater still as we go forward.
Contact us now to start your journey into romance . . .