Lingoo language exchanges and hosted homestay language holidays are specifically designed to facilitate the language development of children learning new languages through immersion in that chosen language. With more than 6,500 languages in use across the world, the growth of each language is dependent on a number of cultural, migratory, historical, political and economic factors.
Factors Affecting Language Distribution One major factor in global language use is European colonialism, which thrived in the 18th and 19th centuries. This has had a huge impact on the languages which are spoken across the world, with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese being spoken as the first or second languages of many countries around the world. This is also reflected in key world institutions, such as the UN, which has 6 official languages, four of which are European in origin. The other two official languages are Arabic and Russian, and their inclusion reflects the political and regional importance of these languages. The societal importance of different languages is constantly evolving. Over time, certain languages suffer a decrease in the number of speakers, whilst others spread quickly and increase in speaker base and prominence.
The English language is the most spoken language in the world. Estimates suggest that more than 1bn people in the world speak English. It is also the language of the internet, with estimates suggesting that 80% of data on computers across the world is stored in English. English is also, crucially, the language of business, and across the world children learn English as part of a drive by governments and parents to increase the job prospects of their children in a global marketplace. In the United Kingdom, the government has selected six languages to teach in schools, four of which are the main European languages, as well as Mandarin and two classical languages. A report from British Council recently suggested that the biggest skills requirement for languages is Spanish.
Mandarin is growing in popularity in teaching in the UK, fuelled by the increasing influence of China on the global political and economic stage. There are estimated to be more than 40m non-native speakers learning Mandarin across the world. Conversely, the number of students learning English is staggering, with an estimated 30,000 organizations or companies offering private English classes. This is on top of the estimated 300m Chinese people who either spoke English or were learning English in 2011.