If English is the Lingua Franca, Why Learn Other Languages?

[mcgillianaire]

A member of the Scottish Parliament is worried his fellows Scots are not learning foreign languages at a young enough age:

"The East of Scotland European Consortium has been clear in predicting that, if we fail to get people speaking languages, we will struggle to make inroads in the booming markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China and our economy will suffer the consequences. If Scotland is to compete globally, it needs the right skills to succeed. What needs to be done? There is a simple starting point: we need to get pupils learning languages sooner and faster. If we compare language learning in Scotland with that in Scandinavian nations—countries with renowned education systems—we find that pupils in Scandinavian nations are taught foreign languages at a very young age. In Sweden and Finland, pupils start learning them as early as seven and in Norway they start at the age of six. That is a difference of four or five years and any linguist would tell us that, as far as languages go, the difference is significant. My point is simple. Not only do children pick up other tongues faster at an earlier age; the sooner languages are introduced to pupils, the sooner they will be seen as equal and important subjects. If we give languages the same status and importance as English, maths or history, their take-up at standard grade and higher will inevitably rise." -Ian McKee, Scottish Nationalist Party

It got me thinking, how many cunning linguists were there amongst us? Do the Scandinavians really have it better than us?

[Poll #1643947]