The Scotsman – Emma O’Neill
“…is there any actual benefit to learning a foreign language in high school? The answer is a resounding yes. From economic, to cognitive development, Fhiona Fisher of Scotland’s National Centre for Languages believes there are numerous reasons to learn a second language. “Research shows that UK employers are dissatisfied with applicants’ language skills and it is estimated that £0.5 billion is lost to the Scottish economy every year because of a lack of language skills in the workforce. It is clear that if our young people are to be able to complete in an increasingly global market, then they have to be able to offer a similar range of skills and aptitudes to those of their counterparts from elsewhere in the world…Even a little of a language deepens the learner’s understanding of the people and places where that language is spoken. This, in turn, develops friendship, tolerance and mutual understanding in a way that monolingualism cannot.””(more)