Barcelona directory: Language Schools • Upstream Connections
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According to a British survey conducted in 2005, 82% of adults who have studied a second language wish they could speak it better. According to NIACE, demand is strong amongst British adults for language learning, with languages being the fourth most popular subject area in adult learning. Interestingly, over 29% of UK adults are involved in some form of adult learning, which is unequalled in most of Europe.
Despite this encouraging news, we are witnessing a period of great upheaval and change in adult learning and there is a danger that a great percentage of this demand for teaching may remain unsatisfied unless more specific attention can be focused on languages at both regional and national level. Firstly, the needs of employers and the economy are being given a more central role in adult learning policy. It is popularly known that using a language at work gives job satisfaction to individuals and creates a more versatile and balanced workforce.
Language learning also brings wider educational, social and cultural benefits to individuals. The National Languages Strategy calls the ability to speak another language ‘an essential part of being a citizen’. The current crop of language tutors know that adults have varied motivations for wanting to learn a new language, and their role is to work with these motivations in order to do the best for learners. A number of options are available for learners, such as:
English School London
For any adults wanting English lessons London is the obvious place to go. Estimates place the number of people living in London for whom English isn't their first language at anywhere from twenty to forty percent of the population. The government's policy on language learning is aimed as much towards this element of the population as people who speak English and want to learn a foreign language. While learning Spanish should be a priority for monolingual Britons who summer in Iberia every summer, any English Course London can offer should be among the best in the country.
Learning European Languages
The main thrust of the survey is that British adults are passionate about learning new languages. This is in stark contrast to British children, many of whom seem perfectly contented to speak English alone as 'everyone speaks English anyway'. This attitude does not continue into later life for many people who recognise that speaking another language is both highly enjoyable and a definite economic boon. Because of this, adult Spanish courses, Italian courses and German courses are being taken in record numbers. Again, this contrasts with the trends among school-age learners, who are turning their backs on modern languages (although the intake for Spanish courses has increased - at the expense of French and German). More details can be found on the website of CILT - Britain's national centre for languages.
The reduced popularity of learning German has been blamed on a number of factors, ranging from the perceived difficulty of the subject (as opposed to learning a Romance language) to the country's relative lack of appeal to British tourists. For the same reason, learning Italian is more popular than ever.
It is clear that having a second language can only be an advantage in life, and it is encouraging that so many Brits are now choosing to learn one.