The importance of languages

The Importance of Languages
• How many languages are spoken
throughout the world?
• 100
• 200
• 300
• More than 500

Just over 6,500


• In London alone, more
than 300 languages are
spoken.


• The proportion of the world which
does not speak English as its first
language is:-

• 1%
• 25%
• 74%
• 94%

94%


What proportion of the
world speaks no English at all?
• 75%

• 60%
• 50%
• 25%

75%


How many UK companies
are losing business because of
language barriers?
• 1 out of every 100
• 1 out of every 50
• 1 out of every 5

1 out of every 5


English is not
enough!


How will studying languages
help you?
• It will increase your job opportunities
• With the growth of the European
Union, there is a much greater need
for people who have a foreign
language.
• 60% of all UK trade is with non
English-speaking countries

It will boost your brain power
• Researchers from University
College London studied the brains
of 105 people – 80 of whom spoke
a foreign language.
• They found that learning another
language improved the brain in the
same way that exercise builds
muscle


It will give you more money
• Learning a language can boost an
average worker’s earnings by up to
20%
• For a person earning the average
national salary, that would mean an
extra £200,000 over a working life.


It can even improve your love
life!

• A survey of 270 dating
agencies found that
people who speak a
foreign language are
more attractive to the

opposite sex!


Why French?

• According to employers,
the languages which most
companies want are:• 1st French
• 2nd German


French is spoken as a native
language in:•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

France
Luxembourg
Monaco
Switzerland
Canada ( Quebec)
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Benin

Guinea
Mali
Ivory Coast
Niger
Senegal
Togo
French Guiana
Central African Republic
Burkina Faso
Congo
Gabon
La Réunion
New Caledonia
Haiti
French Polynesia
Saint Pierre
Mayotte


French is the only language other
than English which is spoken on 5
continents
• French is the second most
frequently used language on the
internet
• French is ranked the second most
influential language in the world


French, along with English, is

the official working language
of:• The United Nations
• The International Olympic
Committee
• The International Red Cross
• The Council of Europe
• The European Court of Justice


France is visited by more
tourists than any other
country in the world
• The Eiffel Tower is the
most visited tourist
attraction in the world


• The following people have
one thing in common …
• They all speak French !


Johnny Depp


Orlando Bloom


Jarvis Cocker

Ellen Macarthur


Robin Williams


Mick Jagger


Uma Thurman


John Travolta


Tina Turner