Languages

The current economic crisis is bad news for job prospects and, if you’re thinking about your future career and which path will give you the most opportunities later on, you might want to consider how languages can benefit you, given that the jobs market is now effectively international.

You may be getting mixed messages about studying Modern Foreign Languages. Every summer there is news of the declining numbers of students taking a language at GCSE. When this became optional in 2004, many voted to abandon language learning which they found “too boring” or “too hard”.

You will often hear this question asked, because English is an established global language. However, we live in a dynamic world where other European and Asian languages are increasingly used to communicate internationally. That is why Modern Languages are valued by UK industry and government as a subject in the national interest, and also why language students have a very high success rate in finding employment.

Language skills are increasingly valued by employers of all types and sizes. Over recent years graduates of languages have been more successful in the job market than business or marketing graduates. Contrary to what most people say or believe, language graduates go into a very wide range of jobs and only a small percentage go into teaching, or translating and interpreting work.

Languages can help you to get on in many exciting areas of work. They make the job more international, you can get to travel more, meet people from lots of different cultures and even take on new responsibilities – just because you speak the lingo, the customer’s language. Did you know that customers on-line are four times more likely to buy when addressed in their mother tongue?  Surprised?