'A need to reach out' Why it is still important to learn languages in an age of AI translation tools

Universities are blaming a “societal shift” for the axing of dozens of foreign language degrees and even entire departments, citing lack of demand from students.

- Richard Adams Education editor

But can the study of a foreign tongue really be replaced by artificial intelligence or online translation tools? No, according to Michael Lynas, the UK country director for the Duolingo language app. He believes there is no good substitute for the hard graft of learning a language as a way of seeing another country’s culture from the inside.

He said: “Sometimes people say: ‘There’s translation apps now so why would you need to learn a language?’ But that’s not what young people in the UK are saying, they are actually spending more time learning languages on Duolingo than any other age group.

“There’s good cultural reasons to learn languages - the UK is part of a global and interconnected world and there’s a need to reach out to other people in ways that translation tools can’t manage.

“Young people and employers can see that being able to speak, even only a few words, and have a conversation in someone else’s language, shows respect and makes those connections in a unique way.”