26 September 2016

Why Is European Day of Languages So Important?

On 26th September every year, Europe celebrates the European Day of Languages. The day is a Council of Europe initiative designed to promote language learning in the EU. But why is it important to celebrate this in the UK?

Language learning has been on the decline in the UK for years now, with 2016 seeing a record low in the number of students choosing to study modern foreign languages at A Level.

And a recent poll by YouGov showed that many people in the UK would rather learn a computer programming language at A Level than a foreign language. Perhaps this is because there remains a perception in the UK that ‘everyone speaks English’ and that there is no real need for native English speakers to learn a foreign language.

But this belies the numerous other benefits of learning a language. As well as making it easier (and more fun!) to travel and get closer to other cultures, learning a second language has been shown to improve brain function too.

Learning another language can make you better at multitasking and decision-making. And, as well as making it easier to learn more foreign languages, it can improve your grasp of English too!

Several studies have also found that bilingualism or plurilingualism can also stave off Alzheimer’s and dementia!

Last year we created a poster to help you show your students the many benefits of learning a language. This year, we invite you to download our classroom vocab posters.

If you are looking for ways to inspire your students to continue with their language studies, why not arrange a school trip, where they’ll see just how important speaking the local lingo really is! Contact us today for your tailor-made quote, or for any information or advice you need.