Cardiff revealed as UK hotspot for learning a top foreign language

Taking the world’s most spoken and fastest growing languages*, Preply’s study unveils the UK’s top cultural hotspots, home to the largest diasporas per language (culture).

Cardiff ranks as home to the UK’s eleventh largest diaspora of the world’s top language speakers

The city places 17th for number of foreign language speakers and 13th for best choice of foreign native amenities (per capita)

Cambridge ranks as the UK’s top cultural hotspot, whilst Manchester, Reading and Nottingham make up the remaining top five

Cardiff places among the top ten hotspots for seven of the languages analysed including Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.

Studying is a big part of what it takes to become a fully-fledged linguaphile but the other part, often overlooked, is practicing our language skills regularly. It is argued that without the opportunity to put a language to use on a regular basis, one can forget what they’ve learnt.

Based on the world’s most spoken and fastest growing languages*, language learning app Preply’s cultural hotspots study reveals where one will find the largest diasporas per language (culture), thus posing the best environment to learn and retain a language.For 45 major UK towns/cities, the research (normalised per capita) factors in the number of speakers per language, number of native amenities (restaurants, grocery stores, community centres), number of language learning institutions and their average rating.

Overall top cultural hotspots

Although London will always remain one of the UK’s top cities for the variety of cultures present, based on the world’s most spoken and fastest growing languages, London has been dethroned by none other than the city of Cambridge.

Cardiff ranks as the UK’s 11th top hotspot for learning a top foreign language, largely owed to it being home to a significant community of foreign language speakers, with 6% of every 100,000 residents speaking one or more of the twelve languages analysed. Cardiff also boasts the 13th best choice of native amenities per capita (123).

Aside from boasting a high percentage of top foreign language speakers and a great choice of native amenities, Cardiff’s high score is also owed to its’ good choice of educational institutions. The city ranks in 15th for its language learning facilities, with 19 schools, per capita, on offer, all of which secure an average rating of 4.74.

Whilst Oxford and Manchester follow Cambridge in second and third place respectively, London ranks respectably in seventh place, as it boasts the second highest amount of foreign language speakers (16% of every 100,000 residents).

However, the UK capital is lacking where native amenities are concerned, placing in 18th, with only 108 native amenities per 100,000 residents. The remaining top ten cultural hotspots include Bristol, Leicester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nottingham, Norwich, and Reading.

Top cultural hotspots per language

Delving into each language, Cardiff is revealed as a top ten hub for not one, not two, but seven of the languages analysed. The city is a top three recommendation for those looking to learn and mingle with the Mandarin, French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Bengali and Japanese communities.

Looking at the top three best cultural hubs per language (culture), Cambridge comes out on top, securing top spots for ten of the twelve languages. Nottingham also reveals itself as a multicultural hub, placing among the top three for six of the languages including Dutch, Italian and German. Other top contenders include Oxford and Ipswich which place among the top three hotspots for five of the languages analysed.

Immersing ourselves in a multicultural environment can prove to be a great way to enrich our language learning and cultural education, with the bonus of becoming part of a new community. Preply’s research proves that you don’t just have to stick to London alone to be among the UK’s top cultural hotspots. Whether you’re seeking a community and environment that feels more familiar or exploring a culture or language that is new to you, this study can help towards putting those new language skills to good use.