The UK has long had a reputation as being rather ‘mono-lingual’ when it comes to communicating on holiday. Indeed, ordering ‘dos cervezas’ on a Spanish break in the sun is possibly as much as many UK holidaymakers could manage.

However, it’s important not to get hooked in by these well-worn stereotypes, and there are many people who are more than willing to try their hand at another language when abroad. The problem is, as English speakers it’s so easy to become a little lazy when our native tongue is so widely spoken – English has become the international language of convenience.

But Scotland has recently announced its new curriculum for excellence, which aims to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum for ages three to eighteen. And the good news is, modern languages feature prominently in the new framework.

This may be in response to some startling statistics relating to the teaching of languages in schools. One in five schools does not offer Higher German, whilst one in ten does not provide an option for Higher French. However, it’s worth noting that other languages are proving more popular such as Spanish, which has seen an increasing in uptake in the past year, at both Higher and Advanced Higher level.

As a translation company that relies on the language skills of professionally qualified translators, we fully support any initiative that encourages children to take up a language at a young age. And whilst as a nation we may be fine for ordering a beer or two when we’re on holiday in Spain, we can’t ignore the need for genuine language skills in the ever-globalising world of business.