British travellers at bottom when it comes to ...

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German tourists top languages poll

British travellers are still bottom of the class when it comes to speaking another language.

Just 11% of UK tourists speak another language fluently, with 22% not able to utter a single word in a foreign tongue, a survey by TripAdvisor found.

In contrast as many as 70% of German travellers can converse fluently in another language, with only 1% unable to speak a single foreign word.

The Italians, with 51% fluent in a foreign language, the French (50%) and the Spanish (43%) were all far more at ease with different languages than the British.

But at least Britons made some effort while overseas, with 67% of them able to speak basic words in a foreign language.

The survey of 6,258 European travellers, including 2,508 Britons, revealed that 19% of British travellers expected public signs abroad to be in English as well as in the local language.

Also, 74% of British travellers expected those they meet overseas to speak English.

TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said: "It's easy to blame our poor grasp of other languages on the fact that English is so universally spoken, but expecting all signs to be in English reveals just how presumptuous some of us have become when travelling.

"However, it's good to see that while we might expect locals to speak English, most of us at least attempt to learn the basic pleasantries before we go on holiday."

news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/german-tourists-top-languages-poll-1

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I find English a very easy language to understand and speak compared to the others that I have had to learn during my youth. It's my second language. I speak English - it seems professional - but sometimes do speak Hinglish in my common circle. It wrecks my plain accent I find.

The reason why British tourists find it difficult to speak another language in another foreign country is perhaps the fact that we are only taught one or another European language at high school and the fact that English is a universal language.

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New immigrants know more about British heritage than natives.

The MP for Tooting, whose parents were immigrants from Pakistan, said it was "frustrating" that new arrivals were forced to sit citizenship tests when most native Britons knew little about the country's heritage.

He told the House magazine he had met many immigrants who had gone through a citizenship ceremony who were "excited and enthused" about living in this country.
"Then I’ll be canvassing in my area and there’ll be people who have lived in the same home for three or four or five generations who know ****** all about our country, about our heritage," he added.

"It frustrates me that you’ve got new citizens who have an obligation to learn about our country but we aren’t doing enough to make sure everyone shares that knowledge."

Citizenship tests were introduced by the last, Labour government in 2005. Those wishing to become British are required to speak English and must sit a test called Life in the United Kingdom.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/9635083/Sadiq-Khan-new-immigrants-know-more-about-British-heritage-than-natives.html