Learning a second language

OR...(or both???)

The head of the European Parliament's London information office has warned of a "serious problem".
Only 5% of the jobs in the European Parliament and Commission are taken by British workers - although the UK contains 12% of the EU's population.

On Monday, for the first time, the European Parliament and European Union are holding an open day for UK school leavers and graduates encouraging them to think of a career in Brussels or Strasbourg.
Michael Shackleton, who runs the European Parliament's communications operation in the UK, said: "People like me are coming to retirement and its very clear there are not enough people to take our places.

"The balance of the use of language has been in favour of English, but to understand what people are thinking about you also have to get a sense of them and how they see the world," he added.

In 2001, about 347,000 pupils sat GCSE French, but this has fallen by nearly half to fewer than 178,000 in 2010.

There is a similar pattern for German language studies, with more than 135,000 sitting the exam in 2001, but only about 70,000 in 2010.


Source: BBC