Plymouth/Pisa: Italians see English as Europe's No1 language

ITALIAN parents are sending their children to additional out-of-school English lessons because they see it as the language of business and key to helping them get good jobs.

They are prepared to pay for private lessons, given by British teachers, because they want their children to become fluent in what they see as the continent's dominant tongue.

"English is becoming Europe's first language, if not the world's," said Rossella Pichichero, co-director of British School Pisa, a business founded and still mainly run by Brits, which has been teaching English to Italians in the Tuscan city since 1973.

"Parents are prepared to pay for lessons because they trust us and at the end of the course their children get a qualification. It's for their future, whether for future study or for their career.

"People in Italy are aware of the importance of English, that's why parents are investing a lot in their children's education."

British School Pisa teaches about 1,000 students a year, who sit about 1,500 exams, for the respected Cambridge ESOL qualifications.

Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-Pisa-Italians-English-Europe-s-No1/story-26709518-detail/story.html#ixzz3dKcOlWij
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When I go to Italy, I'm always shocked by how many people speak English there. But Italians place a high value on the language, and it's no wonder schools like this are so popular over there.

Excellent news.

Well it's true. It goes English, French, Spanish/Portuguese then German/Italian. English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. French is second, with African countries, Canada, Carribean colonies speaking it, Portuguese and Spanish you have the entirety of south america speaking that language and carribean colonies.

So it makes sense for Italian people to learn English. Only in Argentina do you have a large amount of people outside of Italy speaking the language and even then the main language is spanish.

Reply 3

Rakas21

21

Original post by jam277

Well it's true. It goes English, French, Spanish/Portuguese then German/Italian. English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. French is second, with African countries, Canada, Carribean colonies speaking it, Portuguese and Spanish you have the entirety of south america speaking that language and carribean colonies.

So it makes sense for Italian people to learn English. Only in Argentina do you have a large amount of people outside of Italy speaking the language and even then the main language is spanish.

Aye. Over time it's speculated that English, Spanish and Mandarin will break away from the pack so to speak (English is self explanatory, more the US and Brazil are speaking Spanish and Mandarin is obvious).

Reply 4

doobucks

16

Original post by Rakas21

Aye. Over time it's speculated that English, Spanish and Mandarin will break away from the pack so to speak (English is self explanatory, more the US and Brazil are speaking Spanish and Mandarin is obvious).

True, the influence of Mandarin in future will be quite a lot, you can see that the east are getting much more influence, the amount that the western world import from China e.g. and their technological developments means there will be a lot. Coming to think of it, might put Spanish level with French at this moment in time, considering the influence of the countries that actually speak spanish in some form. Obviously in the southern parts and western USA you'll have a high no. of spanish speaking people.

It's good though, nice to know the language you speak is likely to be spoken wherever you go in the world.

Reply 5

Rabbit2

18

Original post by Rakas21

Aye. Over time it's speculated that English, Spanish and Mandarin will break away from the pack so to speak (English is self explanatory, more the US and Brazil are speaking Spanish and Mandarin is obvious).

Actually, the dominant language in Brazil is Brazillian. A mate of mine [from Lisbon], insists that what is spoken in Brazil is NOT Portuguese. He in involved in a family import/export business, and the family wanted him to go to Brazil to take over operations there. He agreed, and the local office assigned a young guy to 'go around with him' to keep him out of trouble. Me mate said that, when he arrived, he couldn't even tell the cab driver to take him to his hotel. He knew the addy, but couldn't get the driver to understand him. He said that it took about 3 months before he could reliably make himself understood among the locals. He lived in Brazil for about 4 years, and then was summoned back to Lisbon, to attend a cousin's wedding. When he got there, he had picked up so much of a Brazillian accent, that the locals had trouble understanding him. He told me that the differences are much greater than the differences between English and Yank. Cheers.

Reply 6

greenapples2

20

not just Italy, my cousins in Poland are always using me to learn English :closedeyes:

Reply 7

mariasanchez1234

10

Portuguese speaker here with a Brazilian boyfriend and many Brazilian friends. Can confirm your friend lied to you, can’t see a reason why someone would lie about something like that but okay. Portuguese is the official language in Portugal & Brazil as well as in many African countries. All have different accents, all speak the same language, everyone understands each other, I guess the only way you couldn’t do that was if you were poorly educated.

Original post by Rabbit2

Actually, the dominant language in Brazil is Brazillian. A mate of mine [from Lisbon], insists that what is spoken in Brazil is NOT Portuguese. He in involved in a family import/export business, and the family wanted him to go to Brazil to take over operations there. He agreed, and the local office assigned a young guy to 'go around with him' to keep him out of trouble. Me mate said that, when he arrived, he couldn't even tell the cab driver to take him to his hotel. He knew the addy, but couldn't get the driver to understand him. He said that it took about 3 months before he could reliably make himself understood among the locals. He lived in Brazil for about 4 years, and then was summoned back to Lisbon, to attend a cousin's wedding. When he got there, he had picked up so much of a Brazillian accent, that the locals had trouble understanding him. He told me that the differences are much greater than the differences between English and Yank. Cheers.