The 2012 Olympics in London will bring athletes and spectators from all over the world who speak many different languages to the UK.
One reason why London won the right the host the Games was because it is such a cosmopolitan city - it is home to hundreds of different ethnic groups and some 300 different languages. The Chair of the Olympic organising committee, Sebastian Coe, would like all the different communities in London to be involved with the Games.
CILT, The National Centre for Languages, believe that language skills will be essential for those involved with the Games in order to communicate effectively with the participants and to ensure that everything goes smoothly. They also believe that an improvement in language skills among people in the UK will have many benefits for tourism and business.
In order to encourage more people to study languages, especially between the ages of 14 and 19, CILT believe that the ability to speak foreign languages should be promoted as a vocational skill, as well as an academic one, and would like to see more people taking the new specialised diplomas in languages, as well as other types of qualifications, such as NVQs.
The two official languages of the Olympics are French and English, but many recent Games have been multilingual. This involves interpreters and translators, multilingual signage, information and announcements. Tens of thousands of volunteers will be recruited to help with all aspects of running the London Games, and there will be an emphasis on recruiting people with language skills. People who work in the emergency services and for public transport will also need to brush up their language skills for the Games.
During and after the Games many extra tourists are likely to visit the UK. Businesses and organisations involved with tourism will benefit greatly from seeking to increase the foreign language abilities of their staff. The most important languages in this field are Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French and perhaps Dutch.
The UK has a reputation for being monolingual, however recent surveys have found that this is far from the case. Overall more than 60 languages are taught to children in schools or in classes run by community groups. It is becoming easier to obtain qualifications in a wide variety of languages, and employers are beginning to tap into the diverse linguistic skills of their empolyees.
Source: http://www.cilt.org.uk/sport/olympics/
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