Foreign Language Skills Key to Improving Career Prospects, survey reveals

75% of bilingual people claim that having a second language has improved their career prospects.

17% would like to learn Chinese Mandarin in the New Year.
71% would consider online methods of language learning.

A survey of over 200 bilingual business people conducted by Rosetta Stone at the Language Show on 3-5 November in London revealed that three quarters of respondents had furthered their career prospects by speaking a second language.

The most commonly spoken languages were French (58%), Spanish (47%), German (31%) and Italian (24%). Additionally, 71% claimed that learning a second language had improved their communication skills making travel more enjoyable and half of respondents said that languages had enhanced their social lives.

67% would like to learn another language in the New Year. Chinese Mandarin jointly topped the poll of desirable languages to learn (17%), indicating a realisation of the increasingly important role played by China as an international trading power. French and Spanish received an equal share of the top vote (17% each).

Michael Lefante, Marketing Manager, Rosetta Stone UK comments:
ìBeing able to speak a second language has a number of benefits for the individual, both socially and psychologically. As the world becomes more globalised, employers are placing increasing value on candidates who can speak additional languages. These employees - who are in demand as they can communicate with clients, suppliers and colleagues abroad - find that they have more opportunities available to them.î

Despite being proficient in a second language, 32% of respondents still devote between one and five hours a week to language learning to improve their skills. Although evening classes are a common method of language learning for 44%, others are put off attending them because of time constraints (27%) and inflexibility (15%). Indeed, 71% of respondents are considering using online methods to learn an additional language in the New Year.

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