Across Europe the British have been notorious for an arrogant lack of interest in learning other languages: an attitude persists of “we’re an island nation, and English is the international language, so why bother?”
In recent years, the problem has appeared to be getting worse. A controversial decision by the UK government in 2004 to make learning a modern language optional from age 14 exacerbated a decline in the popularity of language courses in both state secondary schools and at university.
