There are 7,099 known languages in the world today. Choosing which of these to teach our children as a second language is an important decision, but one that may be based more on feelings than facts.
There are several different ways of thinking about what languages we should offer at school. Research suggests that Australian school children may not be studying the right ones.
The world’s most commonly spoken languages
If sheer numbers of speakers is our primary consideration, and we want our children to learn languages that have the most speakers, then – excluding English – the three most commonly spoken languages are Mandarin (898 million), Spanish (437 million) and Arabic (295 million).
The languages of emerging economies
If the focus of language learning is to improve business prospects, then one strategy would to be to select those that are spoken in the fastest-growing emerging economies in the world.
At the beginning of the millennium, the four big investment countries were seen to be Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The mood seems to have swung, however, and a recent report of top emerging economies now lists the top three as India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Thus the top three would be Hindi, Indonesian and Malay.
The languages for travel
English remains firmly at the top of the list of languages useful for travel (spoken in 106 different countries). Other than English, the languages spoken in the highest number of countries are Arabic (57), French (53) and Spanish (31). This is the only list on which French, a popular choice with Australian students, is included in the top three.
The languages of Australia’s trade partners
Australia’s top two-way trading partners are China, Japan, the US and South Korea. Excluding the US – a predominantly English-speaking country – the top three second languages from a bilateral trade perspective would be Mandarin, Japanese and Korean.
The languages of other Australians
Another way to consider importance is to think about the languages most commonly spoken as second languages where we live. This can be measured at various levels. The top three second languages in Australia are Mandarin, Italian and Arabic.
Comparing ‘the best’ with what Australian school children actually learn
So how does our list of possible “best” second languages line up with the languages that are actually studied in Australian schools?
Of the ten “best languages” we have identified on our various lists, seven are in the top ten languages studied in Australian schools. However, three – Hindi, Malay and Korean – are not studied widely. And three of the most commonly studied languages in Australia – German, Greek, and Vietnamese – are not on any of the top three lists.
Why the difference?
There are a number of historical reasons that may explain this disparity between the two lists.
Greek and German, for instance, were historically important second languages in Australia. Now the communities that speak these languages in Australia are much smaller in number in comparison with communities that speak Mandarin and Arabic. Our languages education has not kept up with changes in demography.
Japanese is another interesting case in point. It is the most commonly studied language in Australia. The push for Japanese in schools began in the late 1970s, gaining momentum with strong government funding in the 1980s. During the years that have followed, South Korea has moved up into fourth position in bilateral trade.
Despite government funding in 2008 to promote learning Korean, along with Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian, this has not resulted in strong numbers studying Korean at schools in Australia. Again, languages education seems to be having trouble keeping up.
Who decides what languages to offer?
In Australia, each state has jurisdiction over which languages to offer in their schools, and so the regulations differ slightly.
In Queensland, for example, the Department of Education and Training instructs principals to make decisions about the choice of language, in consultation with their school communities.
Part of the complexity around making these decisions is that it takes many years to train school teachers who are capable of teaching languages. Therefore it is difficult to respond quickly to changes in demand for different languages to be taught at schools.
Some innovative strategies
One innovative Australian project addresses this issue by recruiting elderly migrant language tutors with local school students, meeting the need for competent language tutors, and having the added bonus of providing these migrants with the opportunity to feel they are making meaningful contributions to their new communities.
Another project which began in the US uses digital technology to pair up students as peer tutors: each student is a fluent speaker of the language the other is trying to learn. The effectiveness of this, and other digital strategies, have not yet been fully investigated in the Australian school context.
Where to from here?
Given the rapid changes in the status of languages across the globe, it is critically important to regularly review the languages that are offered and promoted to students at schools, and to explore innovative approaches to these languages.
In this way, we can maximise the opportunities for children to learn languages that will be of practical advantage to them into the future.
The younger we are when learning a new language, the easier it will be. The question is, what language should your child learn? In an increasingly globalised world, speaking as many languages as possible is important, particularly in regards to a number of career paths.
Luckily, children in the UK are already in a privileged position as English is the language for business and international relations. Up to 375 million people are native English speakers and a further 199 million have it as a second language, which results in more than 500 million English speakers around the world.
However, there are a multitude of additional languages. Actually, there are about 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. Don't worry though; your children don't need to speak them all.
Here is a list of some of the most important languages you child could learn:
French
This charming Latin language is widely spoken around the world. Its speakers include 65 million French people and 72 million bilinguals – French is spoken in some parts of Canada and many African countries.
As a Latin language, learning French can be a difficult at the beginning due to the different verbal terminations – English is much easier in this sense. However, not only is it a beautiful language, but it is also widely spoken in three continents around the globe.
Mandarin (Standard Chinese)
Up to 800 million people speak Chinese Mandarin across the planet, which makes this language the most spoken in the world. This should not be surprising considering that Chinese is distinguished by its high level of internal diversity.
Considering the economic growth that China is experiencing at the moment, Mandarin is also gaining particular popularity in the business world. Learning Mandarin, however, is a challenge that requires considerable time and effort. Because of this, the sooner your child becomes familiar with it, the better.
Spanish
Right after Chinese, Spanish is the language that has the most native global speakers – up to 400 million. By learning Spanish you can also communicate in most Latin American countries as well as in the African region of Equatorial Guinea.
Despite being widely spoken, Spanish is not as widely used in the business world as Chinese Mandarin for example. Learning it is as difficult – or as easy - as learning French. The main advantage of knowing one Latin language is that it is much easier to learn a second one further down the line due to a multitude of similarities. Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian are the main Latin languages you should look to teach your child.
German
Although German is not a widely spoken language, it is important to know it on a European level. 101 million speak it as their native language, including in countries such as Austria and Switzerland.
Learning German could also look a bit difficult at first, but it should be easy for a young mind to eventually pick up. German will be always worth learning as long as Germany remains one of the main economic forces within Europe.