January 2011
GROWING LANGUAGE DEFICIT WILL HAVE ‘DETRIMENTAL IMPACT’ ON UK ECONOMY, SAYS BRITISH ACADEMY
With over 71% of employers not satisfied with the foreign language
skills of young people*, and 75% of the world population currently not
speaking English as a first language, the British Academy has today (9
Feb) called on UK universities urgently to address the growing mismatch
between supply and demand in language skills.
Language Matters More and More (PDF file - 404 KB), a Position Paper by
the British Academy Policy Centre, highlights the increasing severity of
the languages deficit.