Breaking down the language barrier

"Merci," responds the teacher. The reception class then counts fluently to 10 and we parents are all so proud.

Her elder sister, at the grand old age of seven, sings French songs with her classmates and now recites her numbers to 20.

I remember trying to learn a foreign language at school as an impossible task. We didn't pick up a phrase book until we were 11 and I have always regretted being unable to utter more than a few phrases in bar Spanish.

I had high hopes that my children's early start on the path to learning a foreign language would lead them to a bilingual future at the least.

But now that studying a foreign language to GCSE level or the equivalent isn't compulsory in schools, the number of older pupils studying languages has slumped.

While there is more foreign language teaching in primary schools these days, the fear is that if children don't continue their language studies after the age of 14, future generations of Britons will be increasingly monolingual.

In a bid to encourage more people, including children, to learn a language and halt Britain's linguistic decline, the European Day of Languages, on September

26, is being used to highlight the benefits of language learning.

CILT, the National Centre for Languages, is spearheading the drive in Britain, where numerous European Day of Languages events will be held, including festivals celebrating multicultural diversity, language classes and fun days.

Tamzin Caffrey, CILT's head of marketing, says some teenagers aren't taking exams in foreign languages because they think it'll be hard to get an A grade.

"I think that's a real shame," she says. "It's such an important skill – it widens your horizons and gives you so many opportunities all around the world. There are huge advantages to it outside of exam results."

She says mothers and fathers who regret not learning a language when they were younger should convey that regret to their children so they don't find themselves in the same situation later in life.

Parents can encourage their children to learn a language as early in life as possible, when they have an openness to it and are excited about it.

"Young children don't have that lack of self-confidence that you have as you get older," says Tamzin.

"They don't worry about making mistakes, and they get really excited about being able to say things in another language, as well as getting inspired by the cultural aspect of it."

She says that although it's a case of the younger the better for language learning, that doesn't mean putting a child into a bilingual nursery, or having private tuition at the age of five.

Instead, merely exposing children to other languages whenever possible, be that on holiday or perhaps through books, will help.

She says parents should reinforce the value of language learning, and help children to understand that language skills aren't just about being an interpreter or a teacher, but that having a language will help in any career, and in many other aspects of life.

However, many parents don't encourage their children to study languages because they believe English is spoken by most people around the world.

But the reality is that 75 per cent of the world's population don't speak any English at all.

"It's incredibly arrogant of us to say we'll just let other people speak our language," says Tamzin.

"You miss out on so much by being dependent on people speaking your language."

As far as business is concerned, studies show that customers are more likely to buy from someone who speaks their language, and job prospects are better for young people who can speak another language.

Bob Shankly, human resources director of BMW, explains: "Employees with language skills are definitely more marketable and have more worth in the labour market."

Although China's growing economic power has prompted an increase in GCSE Chinese entries, and even a few primary schools starting to teach the language, Tamzin says the language a child learns isn't too important.

"It's not about which language, it's about the skills they develop," she explains.

"For young children, it doesn't really matter which language they learn, because what they get from learning any language is awareness of how it works. They get an appreciation of their ability to use another language, and a real stepping-stone to be able to learn in the future."

With regards to which language older children should learn, she says

it's worth bearing in mind what employers are looking for.

Those who've learned Spanish, German or French have much more opportunity to travel and speak the language, she says.

"At the moment, from an employer's point of view, they want people with French and German. They're struggling to get people with those languages."

However, she stresses: "The best thing a parent can do is to encourage their child to follow the language they're enthusiastic about."

She adds: "Learning a language broadens your horizons, and if you've got language skills, it makes you more employable.

"Surely that's what parents want for their children."

European Languages Day is being marked this year with events up and down the country to encourage people to take up classes.

In Leeds, language experts Little Fidgets will be running taster French and Spanish classes at Leeds Central Library on Saturday, September 25.

Spanish for Fidgets will take place at 1.30pm and French for Fidgets at 2.30pm. Both classes will be run by talented, native speakers using songs, games and role-play and they are aimed at children aged two to seven and their parents/carers.

For more information about the European Day of Languages, visit http://edl.ecml.at.

For information on languages in careers, visit www.languageswork.org.uk