Early modern historian and polyglot John Gallagher joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about language learning in Britain from the 16th century to today. What was it like when the English language was, in the words of one early modern writer, useless anywhere past Devon? And why do Brits today perform so poorly on language acquisition, especially against their continental peers?

John’s book, Learning Languages in Early Modern England, is published by Oxford University Press.

Plus: Stephanie Boland and Steve Bloomfield on language learning in the time of coronavirus lockdown

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