These are the 10 reasons I most commonly hear from young people not wanting to learn a language - and how I answer each of them.

1 Everyone speaks English

English may be the international language of business but not every foreigner is fluent. About 75 per cent of the world’s population speaks no English at all. Yet 60 per cent of British trade is with non-English speaking markets. Experts believe we could double our trade with Europe if we overcame language barriers. Relying on English can pose more dramatic problems. Since September 11, 2001 Americans have been deperate for linguists. Apparently the FBI has lots of untranslated tapes and documents and no one to decipher them.

2 I’ll never work abroad

Perhaps not, but it’s a shame to shut doors so early. What’s more, a growing number of UK employers are looking for staff with language qualifications. Some are already hiring multilingual employees from mainland Europe because of a skills shortage at home. As global business expands this trend is bound to continue.

3 On foreign holidays I get by perfectly well with English

Big international resorts are so geared up for tourists, if it weren’t for the weather you could almost be at home. If you really want to know a country you have to get off the beaten track. Londoner Anne Wells once travelled through rural Spain with a Spanish-speaking friend. “It was fascinating and some of the villagers even invited us into their homes,” she says. “It was also frustrating. Obviously my friend did the talking and I had to sit on the sidelines.”

4 The languages I take at school might not be the ones I need in the future

True. But the more languages you speak the more quickly you learn new ones. When Karen Burdett joined A amp; C Exports in Spalding she spoke French and Spanish and had four weeks to learn Italian. “I spent every spare moment listening to tapes, watching videos, reading anything I could lay my hands on,” she says. “When I made the first phone call I was very nervous and explained I was still learning. The clients were delighted I had made the effort and we went on to do lots of business.”

5 I’d rather study something less specialised

Learning a foreign language improves your English as it heightens your awareness of structure. It also develops all sorts of other skills - communication, presentation, problem solving, organisation, independence - just what employers look for.

6 I won’t use languages in my chosen career

Tell that to the train drivers who underwent intensive training before the Channel Tunnel opened. Or footballer Gary Lineker, who had no idea when he was younger that one day he would play at Barcelona and Nogoya. “My wife and I spent hours in tuition yet we could have learned either language at school. Modern languages prepare you for modern life,” he says.

7 I’m more likely to get into university if I take easy A-levels

Analysis of UCAS statistics by Keith Marshall of the University of Wales, Bangor, shows that applicants have a better chance of getting on to a languages course than any other subject. And the vast majority of graduates are snapped up by employers.

8 I don’t intend to do a languages degree

Ninety per cent of jobs requiring language skills need them as a secondary qualification. For example, Proctor and Gamble recently recruited 70 multilingual accountants for its international business centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

9 It’s all memorising words and grammar

It also offers insight into other cultures, which gives you a deeper understanding of your own. And it gives access to the foreign press. Reading the same story in newspapers from different countries can be very revealing and may change your ideas about the British press.

10 I can use software to translate

It will give you the gist but don’t expect quality. Here is how http:babelfish.altavista.com translates “ready, willing and able” into French and back again: “Dispose et capable prets”. “Laid out and able loans.”

To hear more about why students go on to study languages further your school can invite a team to visit with the Language Box, a new resource for higher education staff to bring to school open days. On videos and CDs professionals explain how languages enhanced their careers. Languages include French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese. Contact the Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, Subject Centre, Southampton University Tel: 023 8059 4814 Email: llas@soton.ac.uk www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk

LANGUAGES FOR FUN

Round-the-world yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur (above) enjoys using her French. “It’s always fantastic to be able to communicate with people, whether it’s when you are signing an autograph or doing an interview, or during a tough moment at sea with a crew,” she says.

But as a nation we seem to have a mysterious inferiority complex. “Languages are difficult,” we say, “so there’s no point in trying.” But if you are willing to throw yourself into it and not worry too much about mistakes, speaking a foreign language can be great fun.

Someone else who likes using languages is comedian Eddie Izzard. At his own admission his French is not brilliant yet he regularly stands up in front of Parisian audiences. Now he is turning his hand to German and Spanish as well.

LANGUAGES FOR BUSINESS

“When I come to sell to you in England then I will speak in English, but when you come to sell to me in Germany dann muessen Sie Deutsch sprechen.”

It is many years since former German Chancellor Willy Brandt made this comment but it still holds true. Even if you negotiate a deal in English, showing willingness to learn at least a little local language generates enormous good will.

You also need to understand the culture or you will soon cause offence. Even body language counts. Looking your partner in the eye is considered intimidating in Latin America, blowing your nose in public is the height of bad manners in Japan.

Then there are those situations where English is just not good enough. “One of our agents in the Black Forest speaks no English at all,” says Mike Elms, managing director of Elms Marketing Ltd, Stockport. “Without a linguist on the staff, this is one market we wouldn’t have attempted to break into.”

As one Dutch businessman put it when asked which of his six languages he used, “Whichever gives me commercial advantage.”