Learning new languages are expensive expat nightmares

Leaving the UK before a hard Brexit wrecks what's left of the country is appealing to many Brits, but the thought of learning a new language is discouraging equal numbers.

Record numbers of Brits are now applying for second passports from Ireland, New Zealand and several other English-speaking countries, simply because the thought of learning another language is scary and the cost is high. One popular translation service has recognised would-be expat dilemmas over the issue, and has created an interactive map showing the world’s top languages, where they’re spoken and how much it costs to learn them to a degree where you’ll actually be understood by native speakers.

Language Line’s innovative idea holds a few surprises, such as the fact that 220 million people across the world speak French, including northern Canadians and the nationals of a wide swathe of African countries including Madagascar, Senegal and Mali. Spanish is also far more widely used than most people realise. Spain itself and South America are the best known, but the populations of many Caribbean islands, Cuba, Argentina and Equatorial New Guinea all use the lingo, creating a total of Spanish-speakers worldwide at around 585 million people.

However, Chinese is the most widely-used world language and is also one of the most difficult to learn. Over a billion people get by on either its modern version, Standard Chinese or in traditional Mandarin, with both versions any expat’s worst nightmare taking well over two thousand hours to crack at a cost of around £66,000 at £30 for an hour’s lesson. Learning French will cost a great deal less and take less time, with 550 hours’ tuition at £26 an hour totalling £14,300. Spanish is the cheapest per lesson at £22, taking 600 hours to master at a total cost of £13,200,