A third of people claim to speak a foreign language but only know swear words

If you've ever stumbled through trying to order at a restaurant in Spanish, you're not alone.

Photo by Laura Tancredi from Pexels

A survey of 2,000 adults revealed 56 per cent admitted they could order a drink at the bar abroad, but not a lot else.

Of the 18-24-year-olds polled, almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) said their foreign vocabulary only extended as far as curse words.

This has left 81 per cent of all adults wishing they had taken language classes more seriously when they were in school - but 21 per cent felt it wasn’t important as they believed everyone abroad spoke English anyway.

Now, 51 per cent of parents are encouraging their children to learn a second language – with 40 per cent of these admitting they want them to learn from their mistakes.

Another 49 per cent want their child to learn a foreign language to allow them to connect with other cultures, while 45 per cent view it as a way to improve their job prospects.

In fact, almost half (49 per cent) of those polled by Duolingo believe the skill will help with international travel, while 45 per cent want their child to use languages to boost their academic achievements.

40 per cent have been embarrassed when on holiday because of the language miscommunication, with 57 per cent of those left red-faced after trying to converse with a local when abroad.

This has caused 14 per cent to only visit English speaking countries on their travels.

However, just under a third (32 per cent) believe that they could learn a language to a conversational level, while one in five (20 per cent) think they could pick up the basics.

And for those with children currently learning a language in school, one in four (25 per cent) have been inspired to learn a second language after watching their child do so.