Why Spanish is the most important language to learn

“On a poster on the wall in a university in Beijing, I recently read these remarkable words from Nelson Mandela: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.’”

John Worne, the Director of strategy of the British Council has made a report  seeking to provide a strategic analysis of the UK’s long-term language needs, looking at a variety of economic, geopolitical, cultural and educational indicators and scoring different languages against these. It identifies a list of ten languages which will be of crucial importance for the UK’s prosperity, security and influence in the world in the years ahead.
spanish-language-british-council

The indicators used are:
1. current UK export trade
2. the language needs of UK business
3. UK government trade priorities
4. emerging high growth markets
5. diplomatic and security priorities
6. the public’s language interests
7. outward visitor destinations
8. UK government’s International Education Strategy priorities
9. levels of English proficiency in other countries
10. the prevalence of different languages on the internet

Read the full Languages for the Future report here:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/languages-for-the-future-report.pdf