There are estimates floating around that put the cost to Scottish businesses of the poor language skills of our population at £2.7 billion or so - which is quite a lot of money. That's modern foreign languages, of course.
A cost like that to our business community is, of course, followed by a cost in employment terms and a whole swathe of social costs to follow. Improving our performance in learning and using foreign languages would be a good investment, methinks.
That's why I didn't agree with Jack McConnell when he said "What is the point teaching kids French who can't speak English?", and it's why I welcome the Scottish Government's support for building links with other countries.
It's nothing personal - it's just business.
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