3-SBI

There has been a change among the British when it comes to learning foreign languages. The number of people in England who speak a second language is getting smaller over the years. English has become the lingua franca and thus the question raises; is it really necessary for the British to learn foreign languages? This text discusses two points of view on this subject. 
 The first point of view is that it is very arrogant to expect everyone else to speak English (Jacques 2006). Even when the British migrate to a non-English speaking country many fail to learn the language. Jacques also states that although English is now the lingua franca it is not the most spoken language. The number of Mandarin speakers is twice as high as the number of people who speak English as their first or second language. This is argued in the other point of view; there it is stated that English is not the most spoken as a first language but when the people who speak it as a second language are include the number is much higher than the number of Mandarin speakers (Holt 2006).
 Jacques states that a language is not just used for communication but it also helps to understand a culture. Which means in order to understand a person it is necessary to speak their language. Holt has a different opinion; he explains that it is necessary to speak a foreign language in order to understand your own language better. 
 At the moment English is the lingua franca but this might change in the future as Jacques points out. Therefore it is important to learn foreign languages. Holt agrees that it is necessary for the British to learn foreign languages but thinks it is not going to be easy since politicians like John Dunford think it is more important to focus on students' career choices instead of learning foreign languages. 
 Both Jacques and Holt conclude that the monolingualism of the British has to be dealt with. Although English is now the lingua franca it is still important for the British to learn foreign languages.