Lack of language skills is diminishing Britain's voice in the world

By Daniel Boffey. Applications for language courses slump – which is bad news for British diplomacy and business. Eighteen months ago, William Hague told a group of language professors whom he had invited to the Foreign Office that Britain's global standing in business – and, perhaps most pertinently, in the diplomatic world – was at grave risk from a lack of men and women with language skills. One academic who attended the meeting said: "He laid it on the table. He told us there is an urgent need for Britain to improve its language capability."
Whether it be staffing UK embassies or key EU institutions, the language problem was beginning to have a major impact on a diplomatic service once famed for its ability to shape events in the Britain's national interest. Last week's A-level results, and Ucas figures will not have lifted the foreign secretary's mood. French and German – traditionally the two most popular language courses in schools – both appear in a list of the 10 most rapidly declining subjects this summer. Some 11,272 pupils studied French in 2013, a fall of 10% in a year and a near 50% decline over the last decade. German entries fell to a record low of just 4,242. It was a drop of 11% in 12 months and half the number since 2000. Other modern languages – which include Mandarin, Arabic and Italian – dropped this year from a combined 9,136 entries to 9,087. Read more...