 Making
the case for Languages
LANGUAGE LEARNING AND GRADUATE CAREER PROSPECTS
MYTHS AND REALITIES
- Everyone speaks English:
The British don't need to learn other languages
- Languages are too difficult:
you'll get better A-level grades in other subjects
- You have a better chance
of getting into university if you do an easy subject
- Getting a degree isn't
worth the money
- It's more difficult to
get a job with a language degree
- You have a better chance
of a job if you do a vocational subject
- The only jobs for linguists
are teaching and translating
WHAT SOME BANGOR LANGUAGE GRADUATES DID ONE YEAR
MYTHS AND REALITIES
MYTH 1
EVERYONE SPEAKS ENGLISH: THE BRITISH DON'T NEED TO LEARN OTHER
LANGUAGES
REALITY
- 75% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH
- OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE AIMING FOR SKILLS IN THREE LANGUAGES
- 60% + OF BRITISH TRADE IS WITH NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES
- BUY IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE SELL IN THE CUSTOMER’S LANGUAGE
- BRITISH BUSINESS HAS THE POOREST LANGUAGE SKILLS IN EUROPE
- BRITISH BUSINESSES LOSE £MILLIONS EVERY YEAR BECAUSE THEY
CAN'T SPEAK THEIR CUSTOMERS' LANGUAGES – USUALLY WITHOUT
REALISING IT!
MYTH 2
LANGUAGES ARE TOO DIFFICULT: YOU’LL GET BETTER A-LEVEL GRADES
IN OTHER SUBJECTS
REALITY(2001)
- MODERN LANGUAGES S A WHOLE HAD MORE ‘A’ PLUS ‘B’
GRADES THAN ANY OTHER SUBJECT EXCEPT CLASSICS
- GERMAN HAD MORE ‘A’ GRADES THAN ANY OTHER SUBJECT
EXCEPT MATHS
- PUPILS HAD A BETTER CHANCE OF A GOOD GRADE IN A MODERN LANGUAGE
A-LEVEL THAN IN VIRTUALLY ANY OTHER SUBJECT
MYTH 3
YOU HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF GETTING INTO UNIVERSITY IF YOU DO
AN ’EASIER’ SUBJECT
REALITY (2000)
- THE RATIO OF APPLICANTS TO PLACES, ACROSS ALL MODERN LANGUAGES,
IS BETTER, FOR THE APPLICANT, THAN IN ANY OTHER SUBJECT AREA
- APPLICANTS HAVE A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING INTO A MODERN
LANGUAGE DEGREE THAN A DEGREE IN MEDIA STUDIES, BUSINESS STUDIES,
PSYCHOLOGY OR LAW
Source: UCAS Annual Statistical Tables 2000 Entry
MYTH 4
GETTING A DEGREE ISN’T WORTH THE MONEY
REALITY:
- UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE NOT AT UNIVERSITY in 2000
9.0% (approx)
- UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG NEW GRADUATES IN 2000:
5.5%
- GRADUATES EARN 61% MORE THAN NON-GRADUATES IN THEIR LIFETIME
- PEOPLE WITH HIGH LEVEL EDUCATION AND SKILLS WILL GET THE BEST
JOBS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
MYTH 5
IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO GET A JOB WITH A LANGUAGE DEGREE
REALITY:
| Average unemployment rates among
new graduates in the UK 1996-2004 |
Average 1996-2004 |
| MEDICINE/DENTISTRY/VET SCIENCE |
0.61% |
| EDUCATION |
3.15% |
| LAW |
3.70% |
| GERMAN |
4.88% |
| ARCHITECTURE/ BUILDING/ PLANNING |
4.93% |
| FRENCH |
4.97% |
| ALL MODERN LANGUAGES |
5.71% |
| MATHEMATICS |
6.30% |
| PHYSICAL SCIENCES |
6.52% |
| ENGLISH |
6.45% |
| AGRICULTURE/FORESTRY |
6.41% |
| PSYCHOLOGY |
6.48% |
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
6.51% |
| BUSINESS/ADMINISTRATION |
6.63% |
| HUMANITIES |
6.11% |
| SOCIOLOGY/ECONOMICS/POLITICS |
6.92% |
| ENGINEERING/TECHNOLOGY |
8.04% |
| COMPUTING |
10.69% |
| CREATIVE ARTS/DESIGN |
12.34% |
| MEDIA STUDIES |
10.76% |
Please click here
for unemployment rates among MFL and other languages 1996-2004
(excel file)
MYTH 6
YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF JOB IF YOU DO A VOCATIONAL SUBJECT
REALITY:
| AVERAGE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES AMONG NEW GRADUATES IN THE UK 1996-2001
|
% OF GRADUATES UNEMPLOYED |
| MEDICINE/DENTISTRY/VET SCIENCE |
0.44%
|
| EDUCATION |
3.31%
|
| LAW |
3.76%
|
| FRENCH |
4.35%
|
| GERMAN |
4.54%
|
| WELSH |
4.82%
|
| ALL MODERN LANGUAGES |
5.34%
|
| ARCHITECTURE/ BUILDING/ PLANNING |
5.44%
|
| MATHEMATICS |
6.13%
|
| AGRICULTURE/ FORESTRY |
6.56%
|
| ENGLISH |
6.57%
|
| BUSINESS/ ADMINISTRATION |
6.76%
|
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
6.81%
|
| PSYCHOLOGY |
6.89%
|
| HUMANITIES |
6.96%
|
| PHYSICAL SCIENCES |
6.96%
|
| SOCIOLOGY/ ECONOMICS/ POLITICS |
7.19%
|
| ENGINEERING/ TECHNOLOGY |
7.56%
|
| COMPUTING |
8.36%
|
| CREATIVE ARTS/ DESIGN |
9.63%
|
| MEDIA STUDIES |
9.76%
|
MYTH 7
THE ONLY JOBS FOR LANGUAGE GRADUATES ARE TEACHING AND TRANSLATING
REALITY:
| THE JOBS NEW UK LANGUAGE GRADUATES REALLY DID
IN 2004 |
% |
| BUSINESS SERVICES |
21.3% |
| BANKING/ FINANCE |
9.0% |
| WHOLESALE & RETAIL SALES/MAINTENANCE SERVICES |
11.0% |
| MANUFACTURING/CONSTRUCTION |
10.1% |
| PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION |
8.2% |
| COMMUNITY/SOCIAL/ PERSONAL SERVICES |
7.8% |
| EDUCATION |
17.7% |
| TRANSPORT/ COMMUNICATIONS |
6.4% |
| HEALTH/SOCIAL WORK |
5.5% |
| HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS |
4.7% |
| INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS |
0.8% |
| OTHER AREAS |
1.1% |
AND WHERE ARE THESE JOBS?
| LANGUAGE GRADUATES WORKING IN THE UK |
82.8% |
| IN OTHER COUNTRIES |
17.2% |
NB These figures relate to graduates who entered
employment immediately rather than going on
to research, further education or training.
WHAT SOME BANGOR LANGUAGE GRADUATES DID
ONE YEAR
THE JOBS......
| ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER |
MEDICINES CONTROL AGENCY |
| ENGLISH TEACHER |
ECOLE NICOLAS, PARIS |
| ADMINISTRATIVE TRAINEE |
WALES EUROPEAN CENTRE IN BRUSSELS |
| IMMIGRATION OFFICER |
HM IMMIGRATION CONTROL |
| TRANSLATION PROJECT MANAGER |
KUDOS PLC |
| POLICE OFFICER |
ROYAL AIR FORCE |
| TRAINEE TRUST ADMINISTRATOR |
PANNELL FERR FORSTER AND CO |
| RESERVATIONS SALES ADMINISTRATOR |
BRITISH MIDLAND AIRWAYS |
| EUROPEAN COORDINATOR |
TETRA PLC |
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSISTANT |
BUNDESGYMNASIUM DONAUINSEL |
| PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR |
UNIVERSITY OF WALES BANGOR |
| TRAINEE EXECUTIVE |
MIDLAND BANK PLC |
| GRADUATE TRAINEE IN FINANCE |
ROLLS ROYCE PLC |
| TRAINEE ACCOUNTANT |
TRANMERE DISTRIBUTION LTD |
| COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER |
STUDENTS UNION BANGOR |
| TRAINEE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT |
PRICE WATERHOUSE PLC |
| OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR |
META TECHNOLOGY LTD |
| BILINGUAL SUBTITLER |
ELEN RHYS LTD |
| SPORTS COACH |
SPORTS DEVELOPMENT UNIT BIRMINGHAM
|
THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COURSES.....
- CERTIFICATE IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE(TEFL)
- POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (PGCE)
- DIPLOMA IN EUROPEAN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
- COMMON PROFESSIONAL EXAM (LAW)
- LANGUAGE GRADUATES INTO BUSINESS COURSE
WHY DO LANGUAGE GRADUATES DO SO WELL?
THE ANSWER:
- 35-40% OF GRADUATE JOBS OPEN TO ALL GRADUATES
- THESE EMPLOYERS WANT BROAD ABILITIES, MORE THAN SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE
- VOCATIONAL TRAINING GIVEN ON THE JOB
- LANGUAGE GRADUATES BETTER AT KEY SKILLS DEMANDED BY EMPLOYERS:
- ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
- YEAR ABROAD
- MAGIC INGREDIENT IN LANGUAGE DEGREES
REAL INDEPENDENCE
EXPERIENCE OF THE WIDER WORLD
- PLAYS A PART IN THE FIRST EMPLOYMENT OF OVER 70% OF LANGUAGE
GRADUATES
- LESS THAN 1% OF GRADUATES IN OTHER SUBJECTS STUDY ABROAD IN
THEIR DEGREE
- LANGUAGE GRADUATES SEEM TO HAVE AN EDGE AT INTERVIEWS
- MORE MATURE
- MORE SKILLED IN ORAL PRESENTATION
WHO NEEDS TO KNOW THAT LANGUAGE GRADUATES DO
SO WELL?
- Secondary teachers
- FE lecturers
- University lecturers
- Careers advisers
- VIth form tutors
- Parents
- Employers
- Pupils in years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13
- University language students
Keith Marshall, Department of Modern Languages, University of Wales
Bangor, December 2005
k.marshall@bangor.ac.uk
|
