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Heathrow Identifies the Languages Children Should Be Learning for Success
With Heathrow expecting a record 868,000 passengers over Easter weekend and 200,000 extra families set to travel, the UK’s hub airport today announced its Little Linguists initiative, which aims to inspire children to learn new languages.
In partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Opinion, Heathrow has studied the role languages currently play in children’s lives as well as identifying the languages children should learn to set them up for maximum opportunities in adulthood. The findings revealed French, German and Mandarin as the three languages that should be learnt to best set kids up for life in ten years’ time, with language skills expected to add up to £500 billion to the economy by 2027.
The study also revealed that employers are willing to pay a wage premium for a number of languages, from Hindi and Polish to Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and French. Depending on the language and the industry in question, the research found bi-lingual job applicants can negotiate up to 7% higher salaries.
Despite this, the report discovered that the UK’s children aren’t making the most of the opportunities languages present them with. Nearly half (45%) of parents have children who can’t speak a second language with nearly one in five children (19%) not interested in learning new languages while one in ten (10%) say they find it too difficult.
The overwhelming majority (85%) of parents believe it is important for children to speak a second language. More than one in four (27%) suggest that this will enhance career opportunities and boost employability benefitting from more opportunity to pursue careers overseas.
To help inspire children to learn new languages, Heathrow has developed the ‘Little Linguists’ initiative, working with founder of Bilingualism Matters and Professor of Developmental Linguistics at Edinburgh University, Antonella Sorace. The airport has created packs of Mr Adventure themed flashcards, available for families to download online or pick up for free at information desks across all terminals airside over the Easter holidays.
The cards feature a series of simple phrases to introduce kids to French, German and Mandarin. The airports’ Passenger Ambassadors, or ‘Language Ambassadors’ will also be on hand to help kids practice their new skills, speaking 39 languages between them. Families can simply look out for members of the team wearing language ambassador badges who will be ready and willing to help get children practicing their skills.
As well as the Little Linguists initiative, the airport has a number of family-friendly offers during the Easter holidays, including ‘kids eat free’ at restaurants, soft play areas and appearances by Mr Adventure himself. To learn more about Heathrow’s range of family friendly initiatives visit: www.heathrow.com/family