Welsh Journals

INTRODUCTION During the 1980s and 1990s an increasing interest has been expressed by government agencies, training bodies and the academic community in the foreign-language requirements of UK businesses (see Hagen, 1988 and 1993; Metcalf, 1991; Pearce, 1991). For example, a recent Institute of Manpower (IMS, 1991) briefing document, referring to the Metcalf (1991) study of 2,000 British companies (commissioned by the Employment Department), concluded that: 'the evidence shows that the lack of other (foreign) languages has been detrimental to Britain's foreign trade and there is a growing realisation of the importance of conducting foreign business in the mother-tongue. The increasing internationalisation of business in general and the introduction of the Single European Market in particular mean that, without action, the problem will become more serious'. In this context, it is interesting to note that a British Institute of Management survey (Pearce, 1991) of 584 of its members indicated that 40 per cent had no language training available to them. Hagen (1993: 97) has also noted that a major barrier to developing linguistic proficiency is the fact that, relative to other EC countries, the UK has a low existing knowledge base: 'In national terms, it is estimated that only 20 per cent of British people have any knowl- edge of a foreign language.' Furthermore, so far as the business community is concerned, in terms of lost trading opportunities/performance, the lack of foreign language training/skills presents a continuing problem. For example, a 1988 regional study (Hagen, 1988) of firms based in Britain (but excluding Wales) discovered that no less than 44 per cent of surveyed importing and/or exporting firms stated that they had lost trading opportunities due to a lack of foreign-language skills. 8. FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND WELSH MANUFACTURING FIRMS: SOME NEW EYIDENCE1 Helga Eckart