| British teenagers will be able to learn languages such as Mandarin and Urdu as the government tries to make classes more relevant in an age of globalisation, officials said on Sunday. Students have to study a second language between the ages of 11 and 14, although many state schools only offer European languages such as French, German and Spanish. But Education Secretary Alan Johnson is now set to accept an official recommendation that major languages from around the world are routinely offered alongside these. Johnson said that Mandarin or Urdu could be “as important” as European languages in the global economy. |