Over half of Britons who holiday abroad say they have pointed at a restaurant menu to avoid having to pronounce non-English words, a survey suggests.
And almost half said they were embarrassed at not being able to speak the local language while away. But 80% of more than 1,700 people questioned for the British Council felt it was important to learn some phrases.
The Populus survey found 37% of British holidaymakers always tried to speak a few words in the local language but 29% said they were too scared to try.
It also found that 36% felt guilty at asking locals to speak English, while:
n 56% resorted to pointing at menus
n 45% relied on the assumption that all locals would speak English
n 42% spoke English more slowly and loudly
n 15% even tried speaking English in a foreign accent
A minority (15%) admitted to being so unwilling to try pronouncing words from other languages that they would only eat in British or fast food restaurants while overseas, rather than sampling local cuisine.
A similar number said they preferred staying in self-contained resorts to avoid local culture.
Around one in six of those polled said they could speak a foreign language to a high standard and just over a third could hold a basic conversation.Previous research by the British Council, the UK's international culture and education organisation, has found that the UK has a shortage of people able to speak the 10 most important world languages, which is likely to hamper the country's future prosperity and global standing.
