Learn the language, not just the words
Why are the British so terrible at learning languages?
It’s official, the British are terrible at learning languages. A recent survey by Rosetta Stone discovered that although 72% of Brits believe learning another language would be good for them, only 23% have successfully done so. Britain is also by far the worst performer in Europe on measures of second language proficiency.
- 72% think learning another language would change their life for the better
- Only 23% of Brits are fluent in another language
- 32% of young British (15-30) can read and write in a second language. The lowest in Europe by far! (EU data. See chart)
There are lots of reasons why Britain is poor at languages; lack of necessity being foremost. The good news is that if you do learn a second language in Britain, you are really going to stand out from the crowd! Knowing a second language is also really good for us as individuals, the survey respondents thought that a second language would improve their ability to travel easily (49%), their job prospects (32%), and ability to make friends (24%).
Rosetta Stone is one of the favourite language learning solutions for English speakers. Developed in the US, the immersive teaching method helps users learn by doing, not using translations and avoiding the structures that can be hard for English natives - who may have never had to grapple with grammar rules before - to grasp.
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Trusted for 25+ years by top organisations.
”I love Rosetta Stone's software, and I think the approach to learning languages works.”
“With its excellent user interface, clear instructions, wide variety of games and challenges... Rosetta Stone has got it going on.”
“The gold standard of computer-based language learning.”
