Languages 'must be taken seriously'

February 01 2011

Languages should be taken as seriously as subjects such as maths and science.

This is the opinion of Andy Rose, Head of Modern Foreign Languages at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Blackburn, who said German, French and Spanish should be considered on a par with other important subjects.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, he said organisations like BAE Systems have told him they look for language skills.

"There are so few linguists unemployed when they leave university compared to those who have completed vocational courses," he told the news provider.

"Speaking another language gives students transferable skills and it opens doors and gives opportunities."

Local student Oliver Gill agreed with Mr Rose's assessment, suggesting that languages would help to improve his employment prospects.

In an interview earlier this month, Teresa Tinsley, Director of Planning, Delivery and Communications at CILT, the National Centre for Languages, welcomed the government's decision to make foreign languages part of the new English baccalaureate qualifications.

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