I'm not knocking Ruben or anyone who can speak a foreign language fluently, good for them, but wherever I've travelled throughout Europe I've found that most people speak English, not just to learn a language but as a necessity. I've been trying to learn Spanish for the last year but unless I travel who can I practice on? Because of TV, films, books, etc, Ruben will be using English for the rest of his life whereas a British person has no need at all to learn Ruben's Portuguese, unless he moves to Portugal.

I've told this tale before but a couple of years ago I was in Switzerland and while waiting at a ski-lift I heard a young couple talking in very good English. The boy sounded German and the girl French, it would appear neither spoke the other's language but both spoke English, it's now the universal language.