Re: Very poor by design.
Perhaps they based their decision on census data. A quick google gave an article by the Office of National Statistics, which reported that on the 2011 census:
'Those who reported English (or Welsh in Wales) as their main language accounted for 92.3% of the population, except in London where proportion was much lower. Those who reported another main language accounted for 7.7% of the population, with Polish topping the list of "other" main languages. London and the West Midlands saw the highest percentage of people who could not speak English "well" or "at all".'
It may be that those who reported French, Spanish, German or Italian as their main language in 2011 (the most recent census date) had very high percentages of also being able to speak English well.
Regarding the app itself, a default should have been specified, rather than allowing blank boxes, though. I believe that English is language with the highest proportion of speakers able to speak it well in all four nations of the UK. It would therefore be the least-worst choice of default.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
