We cannot expect the rest of Europe to inconvenience themselves to trade in English when we want their money.British arrogance in this regard is known the world over. Our negative attitude to Europe is reflected in our negative attitude to learning languages. We will continue to lose potential revenue if we persist with this thinking. That is the only way to be sure of clinching the deal.This is a lesson that foreign companies learnt long ago. We should be squeezing every drop out of this huge market of 360 million consumers. Where is that good old British pragmatism?It is not sufficient any more to have a good product at the right price and at the right time. We must be able to sell that product in the language the buyer understands best - his or her own.

Often those who do get through fail to find anyone in the company who can speak their language.Long-term planning is needed. Leaders of industry must remember that we no longer do most of our business with English-speaking countries; the percentage of our overseas trade carried out within the European Union is increasing. Many callers from overseas give up at the switchboard because of a lack of linguistic ability. And lastly, there is no immediate cash incentive. According to a recent survey by foreign language experts at LinguaTel, supplier of interpreters, British firms are missing out on millions of pounds' worth of business by ignoring these vital skills.

Then there's fear - the English have convinced themselves over the years that they are in no way linguistically talented. Why? Well, there's laziness - it's so much easier to get foreigners to speak English. Successful business people welcome challenges - except the challenge of learning new languages At least that is the case in Britain. Everything You Wanted to Know About Sponsorship But Were Afraid to Ask, the official guide of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, published every two years by Amoeba Publications, details 103 sponsoring employers as well as listing a number of scholarships, grants and loans.Prospective engineering students should also look at Sponsorship & Training Opportunities in Engineering, published annually by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers..

Alternatively, they can look at the three publications that carry listings of sponsors.The most comprehensive is Sponsorship for Students 1996, published by Hobsons Publishing, which carries details of 246 sponsoring employers. Fearful of attracting too many applications (most receive at least 100 for each place), many employers do not advertise their sponsorships. They prefer to work with academic departments and tutors to identify potential candidates. Many employers now sponsor only part-way through a course and tend to select from those who have done vacation work or had sandwich course placements with them.Prospective students can find out from admissions staff or the course tutor which employers, if any, sponsor people through a particular course. However, he sees "a trend to sponsor more people for less time, mainly in the final year".Finding a sponsor remains hard. However, a drop in sponsorships during the recession may only now be working its way through the system.Roly Cockman, executive secretary of the AGR, says that although firm evidence is unavailable, he believes employer sponsorship is picking up once more.