Most Europeans Find Second Language Useful, but Not All Speak It Fluently
Nearly all Europeans agree that speaking a second language is a valuable skill. However, a recent survey shows that not everyone can speak it fluently, with proficiency levels varying significantly from country to country.
According to a YouGov survey among adults in the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, between 87% and 97% of respondents in all six countries believe that learning another language is beneficial.
However, when asked if they can actually speak a second language fluently, the numbers tell a different story.
Denmark had the highest figures: 74% of adults reported being fluent in another language. This was followed by Germany at 54%, Spain at 47%, France at 37%, and Italy at 28%.
The UK showed the lowest result among the six countries, with only 21% of adults claiming to speak a second language fluently.
This is likely influenced by the dominance of English as a global language. English is the most widely spoken second language among Europeans, with 62% to 93% of those who speak more than one language claiming fluency in English.
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In the UK, a quarter of those who speak another language report being able to speak French, with Spanish coming in second.
Why Don't Some People Want to Learn Foreign Languages?
Among those who do not speak a second language, the most common explanation across all surveyed countries is the lack of necessity to learn it.
Spain is an exception: more than a third of those who do not speak foreign languages cited the difficulty of learning them as the main reason.
Over 70% of those who do not speak a foreign language in each country stated they would like to learn a new language, with travel being the primary motivation.
English has become the language most respondents want to learn, chosen by up to 83% of those surveyed across the continent. The UK is an exception, where Spanish and French are the most popular.
Should Language Learning Be Mandatory?
The survey also explored whether respondents believe that newcomers to their country should speak the local language.
In Italy, Spain, and France, 56% to 72% of respondents stated that this should be expected of tourists. In the UK, Germany, and Denmark, this belief is held by 22% to 39%.
Regarding education, in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, 82% to 90% of respondents believe that foreign languages should be mandatory in schools until the age of 16. In the UK, 66% agree with this. Britons are also less likely than others to consider knowing another language as “very useful,” with only 46% saying so, while in the other five countries, this figure ranges from 57% to 70%.
