Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

More Britons learning languages

•Rosetta Stone reports 34% sales increase on 2006
•Turkish language sees the biggest growth
•Spanish overtakes French as most popular language
•Polish software sales up 56%

May 2007 – Leading language software provider Rosetta Stone (UK) Limited has reported a 34% increase in UK sales of its language software to consumers in the 1st quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year.

Michael Lefante, Marketing Manager for Rosetta Stone comments:
“Our increase in sales is significant and perhaps reflects the fact that more Britons are realising the many personal, professional and social benefits of learning a second language. Additionally, people are choosing e-learning over other language learning methods because of the flexibility it affords.”

Of the 30 languages offered by Rosetta Stone, the biggest growth by far was in sales of the Turkish software, which saw an increase of 128%. This was followed by Spanish (68%) then Thai and Polish, both with an increase of 56%. Additionally, Spanish overtook French as the most popular language.

These findings aren't surprising as there's an upward trend in travel to both Turkey and Spain, with many Britons choosing to buy second homes in these countries and therefore needing to learn the local languages.

The increase in Polish language learning is a positive sign, a reflection of the developing relationships, both business and personal, between Britons and their Polish counterparts. In some areas in Britain, such as Banbury in Oxfordshire, Polish speakers now make up 19% of the population. Furthermore, the North Wales police force has started actively targeting Polish speakers in their current recruitment drive. The need to learn Polish has also been fuelled by an increase in trade between the two countries, which is reaching record levels and increasing rapidly. There are now over 300 flights a week between the UK and Poland.

-Ends-

Top ten languages by sales:

Q1 2006-- Q1 2007

1French-- Spanish
2Spanish-- French
3English-- English
4German-- Italian
5Italian -- German
6Arabic -- Portuguese
7Russian-- Arabic
8Chinese-- Russian
9Portuguese -- Greek
10Greek -- Chinese

For further info please contact:

Heather Baker / Nikki Proctor / Jeanne Fourie
hbl media
020 7612 1830
Heather@hblmedia.com
Nikki@hblmedia.com
Jeanne@hblmedia.com

About Rosetta Stone (www.rosettastone.co.uk)

Rosetta Stone is the leading provider of online and CD-Rom based language-learning courses. The courses are based on a Dynamic ImmersionTM methodology which means that they are fully interactive and use 1000's of real-life colour images to convey the meaning of each spoken and written phrase in the program. The programme’s carefully sequenced structure, written texts and extensive use of native speakers helps the user to attain proficiency quickly, without memorisation, translation or tedious grammar drills. Teaching 30 languages to millions of people in over 150 countries worldwide, Rosetta Stone is the key to language learning success.