The text is an op-ed from 2010, published in the British magazine ‘The Observer’. Due to this, it is aimed at a British audience, who are likely left-leaning, as the Observer is known for its centre-left stance. The purpose of the op-ed is to bring attention to and emphasize the negative impacts of the disregard towards learning foreign languages that, according to the author, British people hold. Britain and other Anglophone countries have a reputation for being unwilling to learn new languages due to English being regarded as ‘the global language’. Furthermore, the calibre of foreign languages, such as French, being taught in British public schools is notorious for being poor, and students are often dismissive towards learning other languages - a sentiment the piece aims to challenge. My thesis statement is that the author effectively depicts negative British attitudes towards foreign languages in an entertainingly written op-ed whilst extols them to be more open to learning new l...