THE last time she
recruited for her export-sales team, Sarah Grain hired a Lithuanian who speaks
Russian, Polish and German. Her two previous hires for Eriez Magnetics, which
makes industrial equipment in South Wales, were an Italian who also speaks
French, and a Venezuelan who speaks Spanish and Portuguese. All of them speak
fluent English. “There were no British applicants who had the requisite
language skills,” she says.
Ms Grain’s conclusion
is not unusual for a British company. In 2012 a European Commission survey
tested the foreign-language proficiency of 54,000 students aged 14 and 15, in 14
nations. Sweden came top, with 82% of pupils reaching an “independent” or
“advanced independent” standard. The average for all 14 states was 42%. England
came bottom, with just 9%.
Part of the
explanation is that many people’s second language is English, while many
Britons continue to believe that, as native speakers of the lingua mundi, they
do not need to bother with foreign languages. They may be right—in terms of
communication. But it means that, not only are they missing out on much
cultural interaction, they may also be harming their own job prospects.
In 2013 the British
Chambers of Commerce found, in a survey of 8,000 British companies, that 96%
had no foreign-language speakers. First-time exporters cited language as a
barrier to entering international markets.
Even if monoglot Brits can get jobs
at multinationals, claims Richard Hardie, non-executive chairman of the British
arm of UBS, a bank, “the chances of getting to the top if you only have English
are much lower than before”.
This lack of language
skills also lowers growth. But exactly how much? It is hard to say, but one
estimate, by James Foreman-Peck of Cardiff University, puts the “gross language
effect” (how much international trade is altered or reduced due to language
barriers) in 2012 as high as £59 billion ($90 billion), or 3.5% of GDP.
edited from The Economist
