MANCHESTER REVEALED AMONG TOP FIVE UK HUBS SET TO RAISE NEXT MULTILINGUAL GENERATION

Global learning platform Preply take a look at some of the most nurturing factors to encourage multilingualism, revealing the UK hubs set to raise the next multilingual generation

Over half of the world’s population can speak more than one language, with 43% classifying as bilingual and a further 17% identifying as multilingual. Although a respectable one third of Brits (36%) speak more than one language, the world’s topmost bilingual nation is Indonesia, where ¾ of the population speak a second language.
 
Taking over 110 UK towns and cities, Preply’s latest research reveals the UK ‘hubs’ set to raise the next multilingual generation. The study considers bilingual/international schools, demand for learning a language and size of bilingual community (bilingual population), to reveal the country’s top locations for nurturing multilingualism in children.
 
Ranking as the UK’s top ten are…
 
Cambridge
Reading
Ipswich
Manchester
London
Oxford
Bristol
Derby / Leicester (joint 8th)
Nottingham
Edinburgh / Exeter (joint 10th)
 
Cambridge takes the crown and London fails to make the top three, placing in a respectable fifth place, whilst Reading and Ipswich complete the top three. Completing the UK top ten are Manchester, Oxford, Bristol, Derby and Leicester (joint eighth), Nottingham and finally Edinburgh and Exeter in joint tenth [see infographic 1].
 
Manchester’s high ranking is largely owed to its appetite for “picking up” a new language, as annual demand for learning a language hovered around the 8000-mark last year. Alongside its willingness to learn a new language the city is also home to the UK’s fifth largest bilingual community, as 18.3% of it’s population register as speaking more than one language.

Where Manchester falls shortest compared to higher ranking cities Cambridge and Reading is the bilingual schools category, offering a scarcer 3.02 per 10,000 children, however these do still carry a high average rating of 4.62.

As for the languages Manchester residents were most interested in learning last year, Spanish came top of the list, followed by French in second and Arabic in third.

In comparison, Cambridge’s top ranking is owed to its wealth of great bilingual schools and its keen interest in learning a new language. The city boasts 11.78 independent bilingual schools per 10,000 children, which have one of the highest collective ratings in the UK (4.78). When learning a language, at-home support and development is indispensable, so parents and guardians can also help when learning too. In 2022, Cambridge registered 3000+ searches for “learn X” (across various languages).
 
A strong bilingual community is also important, and Cambridge has the UK’s third largest, with 20% of its residents speaking a second language. The cities’ bilingual community is beaten only by London and Leicester.

Locations leading the way for Sign Language fluency

When looking at bilingual population data, this includes those who are proficient in British Sign Language. Leading the way towards a more inclusive future for the deaf community, the UK’s largest BSL-speaking community is found in Gloucester, where 0.09% of the population are proficient in BSL. 

Joining Gloucester in the top three for BSL-speaking communities are Barnsley (0.08%) and Bournemouth (0.07%). Manchester places among the UK’s top ten largest BSL-speaking communities, with 0.03% of its population being proficient in the language.

 
With bilingualism and multilingualism being proven to have many social, psychological and lifestyle advantages, the benefits of having more than one language at our disposal are more than threefold. Encouraging the younger generation towards becoming apt with multiple languages is one of the best head starts in life one can be given.