IS it a sign of arrogance? A hangover from the days when the British Empire covered much of the globe?

Whichever, our record on learning foreign languages lags behind the vast majority of European countries.

We are used to stereotypical images of Brits abroad steadfastly refusing to get to grips with the local lingo, relying on that time-honoured method of speaking loudly in English (perhaps adding the odd -o) and gesticulating wildly.

Even Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw today admitted the UK, including himself, was in the slow lane when it came to learning foreign languages.

"Since I have gone into government I have recognised that that is a deficit for me and I have been making efforts to improve my French.

"The trap is to assume that people from other countries want to speak English to us, whereas, in fact, we get much more out of a relationship with people if we speak their language.

"We have got to do more to get more children to learn languages because the numbers have gone down," he said.

Given closer European ties in terms of commerce, do we lag behind? Roger Gibson, of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce says there is definitely room for improvement.

"From our point of view, we will always be supportive of efforts to increase the level of modern languages in this country.

"We are very much a part of Europe and we depend on our capability to increase export opportunities.

"The days have long gone when we just assumed everybody spoke English," he said.

In terms of university applications for degree courses in languages and related topics, figures from UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, make worrying reading.

In 1999, there were 18,272 applications from UK residents for degree courses in this country. By 2001 this had declined by just under a thousand to 17,319.