The European Day of Languages

The motion

That the Parliament acknowledges that 26 September 2012 was the 11th European Day of Languages; notes that this day is celebrated across the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and takes into account 200 European languages in order to promote and preserve what it considers to be the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of the continent and encourage everyone to participate in lifelong language learning; understands that the day also aims to inform the public about the importance of multilingualism in today’s world, particularly for study purposes, professional needs or for purposes of mobility; considers that, due to the single European market and globalisation, there is an increasing need for people to have foreign language skills in order to master the related challenges and opportunities as well as being able to work and study anywhere in the EU; believes that this is encouraged by the Bologna process, the single European market and the ambition toward labour market mobility; understands that, although only 3% of the world’s languages are European and, in Europe, a monolingual way of life is the norm, between one half and two-thirds of the world’s population is bilingual; believes that it is becoming more and more important for there to be a change of mindset in Scotland and to encourage people to learn more than one foreign language; understands that, although there are around 138 languages spoken as the main language in the homes of school pupils, in particular, Polish and Urdu, the trend in pupils studying modern languages at SCQF levels 4 and 5 has declined by almost 30% over the last decade; notes that, according to a recent survey by the European Commission, only 9% of 14 to 15-year-old pupils in the UK can use their first foreign language independently, compared to a 42% average across the rest of Europe; considers that employing people with language skills can help companies enter new markets and individuals improve their job prospects at home and abroad; understands that many university degree programmes across Europe increasingly offer subject and workplace-related modern foreign language services at up to European level C2; notes that these take place at language centres via uniCERT and aim to complement the expertise that students can gain in their academic subjects; supports the European Commission’s aim to encourage language learning through the recently-launched Erasmus for All programme; considers that student exchange programmes, such as Erasmus, which has been used by almost three million students since it started in 1987, are very successful; notes that ,according to the survey, only 39% of adults in the UK can have a conversation in a second language compared to an EU average of 54%, and hopes that the number of UK residents who think learning another language “makes you more employable” will increase from 27%, and be more in line with the EU average of 45%.

No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 24 LD 1 Green 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S4M-04272 by reference.