Could you learn to speak 1,000 words from another language?
British people are lazy linguists – they don't tend to learn foreign languages. A campaign is now encouraging everyone in the UK to learn at least 1,000 words of another language.
The 1,000 Words Campaign follows concerns that the country is losing out on international trade and jobs because of poor language skills.
Rob and Finn discuss the benefits of learning a new language and look at vocabulary to do with becoming a linguist.
This week's question:
Which is the second most spoken language in England? Is it:
a) Polish
b) Urdu
c) French
(Source: 2011 UK Census)
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
Listen
Learn a thousand foreign words
End of Section
Vocabulary
- trait
characteristic
- linguists
people who study foreign languages or speak them very well
- native language
language of a person's home country
- to get by
to just have or know enough to do what you need to do
- compulsory
must be done
- self-esteem
confidence in your value and in what you can do
- to converse with
to have a conversation with
- to give you the edge
to have an advantage
- to master
to learn how to do something very well
- to fit in
to feel like you belong to a group of people and are accepted by them
