The British Academy published the findings of its Born Global project on 31 March 2016. The project examines foreign language needs for employment, employers’ attitudes to languages and how languages are used in the workplace for different purposes. The Born Global website provides access to evidence from a range of new research, both quantitative and qualitative, including a nationally representative survey of SMEs, and a survey of the Education and Employers Taskforce’s Inspiring the Future Network members.
The project’s report on ‘Implications for Higher Education’ concludes: ‘The clear value of language learning to the individual, to the economy and to the intellectual and cultural life of the nation needs much greater appreciation. The evidence that language graduates are of value to companies, as demonstrated by the Born Global project, should be understood by universities, by teachers and by students themselves, as young people prepare to build careers and live fulfilling lives in today’s multi-national and multi-lingual, connected world.’
