Why Study Languages

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Why Study Languages
When Everyone Speaks English?
Produced by the Subject Centre for Languages,
Linguistics and Area Studies
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Sex Goda Skäl FörAtt Studera Språk
Du kan få ett jobb Du har nytta av det ute i
världen Du kommer att träffa mycket folk Du lär
känna dig själv bättre Du kan uppleva nya
kulturer Det är spännande
Did you understand?
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Six Good Reasons forStudying Languages
Itll get you a job Its exciting It gets you
places Youll meet loads of new people You can
enjoy new cultures Youll find out more about
yourself
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Itll Get You a Job
A few facts about language graduates and
employability
But first which of the following subjects do
YOU think have the best job prospects?
Physical Sciences German Law Computing Biological
Sciences English Education Business
Studies French Engineering Media Studies Medical
Sciences
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Itll Get You a Job
Here are unemployment rates for new graduates in
those subjects
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Itll Get You a Job
A few more facts about Language graduates and
the jobs they go into
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Itll Get You a Job
Being able to speak other languages is a skill
that gets you ahead
The UK trades with over 200 countries worldwide
(Source Trade Partners UK, 2002) Businesses
large, medium and small need employees with
foreign language skills They also need people
who are happy operating across cultures
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Itll Get You a Job
Its not just language skills either
Employers say they value the key skills developed
by language learners these include
communication skills team working skills
interpersonal skills presentational skills
problem solving skills organisational skills
good learning strategies
can you think of any more?
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It Gets You Places
Language degrees often involve some time working
or studying abroad
This might involve living in a European country
or further afield in Africa, Asia, Latin America
or North America Students on non-language degrees
can sometimes choose to go abroad on student
exchanges
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It Gets You Places
Living abroad is an experience
Going to university was amazing but going to
Mexico was the best experience in my entire life
it was absolutely fantastic. It was the Mexican
culture and generally being in such a fantastic
country it was just so different to being in
the UK
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It Gets You Places
You learn so much
You arrive and you have to learn about new
customs and where people live. You learn to deal
with new people. You have to think about every
word you speak until suddenly you are fluent. It
makes you appreciate home too Suzanne is going
back abroad after her final year to marry her
Mexican boyfriend
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Youll Meet Loads of New People
Ive made lots of new friends, its really
widened my horizons
Using a language is a social activity and
language learning leads to encounters with people
from many backgrounds
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Youll Find Out More About Yourself
Most people find their experiencesvery rewarding
at a personal level
Its a challenge Its enriching you develop
yourself It opens your mind to understanding
other people but it also affects you in your own
life You learn to get on with your surroundings
you become less judgemental
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You Can EnjoyNew Cultures
You find out about and experience different
cultures whilst reflecting on your own
I really enjoy meeting people with different
perspectives on life with different values
different traditions Meeting other cultures,
you start to think about your own country and
background You dont realise that even the most
basic things can be different
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Its Exciting
Just being able to communicate with people who
know a different language from you its a
really great feeling
And studying languages at university you will
have lots of choice UCAS the universities
admissions service lists over 7000 different
language degree courses on its website
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Its Exciting
Languages you can choose include
Arabic Chinese Czech Dutch French
German Gujerati Hebrew Hindi Indonesian
Irish Italian Japanese Polish Portuguese
Russian Sanskrit Slovak Spanish Swahili
Swedish Tamil Thai Turkish
and many more
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Its Exciting
There are 4 language learning routes you could
follow at university
Route 1 Take a language degree study one or
more languages together with related modules in
areas such as
linguistics drama film media politics
society history literature popular culture
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Its Exciting
Route 2 Take a degree which integrates study of a
language with other subjects. This includes
degrees in
European Studies International Studies
Business Studies Leisure Tourism
There are many other possibilities
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Its Exciting
I find Spanish very challenging and really
relevant to my career choice
Route 3 Take a joint degree and combine language
study with another discipline e.g.
Spanish Computer Science Politics Arabic
Marine Sciences with French Geology Italian
Look in prospectuses to discover more options
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Its Exciting
Route 4 Take a language option at some point in
your degree Sometimes you can take specialist
language options which relate directly to your
main course of study e.g.
French for Lawyers German for Engineers
Italian for Art Historians
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And If You Still Need Convincing
Studying languages means
Maximum Career ProspectsYou will be very
employable Maximum ExperienceThere are lots of
personal benefits Maximum ChoiceThere are many
languages and courses to choose from Maximum
FunIts certainly not all work and no play
Produced by the Subject Centre for Languages,
Linguistics and Area Studies