Vocational subjects will be all the rage on A-level and GCSE results days in England this year, with data showing how subject choices are changing with the times.
For example, computing entries will be up by around 10 per cent, while provisional GCSE entries for business studies are up by 27 per cent since 2019 and A-level entries in the subject are up by 34 per cent.
But as one field of study grows, another shrinks, and modern foreign languages are some of the hardest hit subjects. Entries for German, for example, have dropped by 17 per cent, while French stagnated with just 0.3 per cent growth.
Languages in schools need a boost
This is not good news - language and intercultural skills are needed in the UK as it repositions itself on the global stage after Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
Unfortunately, though, the resource for language learning is not the same in every school and there is concerning evidence of a growing social divide.
In this year’s Language Trends England survey carried out by the British Council, we discovered that more than half (53 per cent) of independent schools teach every student at least two languages in Years 7-9 (key stage 3).
But fewer than one in five (16 per cent) of state schools do the same, with two-thirds (66 per cent) teaching only one foreign language at KS3.
The appetite for language learning is seemingly higher in private schools also, with three in 10 schools saying all students take a language for GCSE compared with just one in 10 in state schools.
German has been the hardest hit, with entries at GCSE dropping from 36,933 in 2021 to 34,966 last year, and the proportion of state schools offering German is significantly lower than for independent schools
But across the board the number of students taking languages is far lower than it needs to be.
If the government is to achieve its English Baccalaureate target, which aims for 90 per cent of students to study a GCSE in a modern foreign language by 2025, we estimate that an additional quarter of a million students will need to take a language.
Yet while the interest in modern foreign languages wanes in schools, so does the capacity for teaching them.
With fewer people taking languages in school, fewer people go on to study a language at university. This results in fewer people from a broad range of backgrounds going into the professions where language skills are key, such as teaching, diplomacy and business.
Meanwhile, the data shows that nearly nine in 10 primary schools across England have pupils who speak a language other than English at home.
This verifies the importance of a curriculum that promotes intercultural skills and language learning. In multicultural and multilingual Britain, all our young people deserve to learn a language and have their ability with additional languages celebrated.
Cause for hope
However, all is not lost. The growing popularity of Spanish, which is the most taken language at A level for the fourth year running and is predicted to become the most popular language at GCSE, is a sign that languages are not a lost cause.
As well as being the second most widely spoken first language, Spanish has grown in importance for the UK, both for tourism and as a global business language. Further recognition of the practical use of languages could lead to bigger uptake.
We have started to see the teaching of other languages emerge, both ancient and modern.
In state schools Mandarin Chinese is the most popular language after French, German and Spanish. Much to the pleasure of classicists, Latin has become the fourth most taught language in primary schools.
With Latin forming the basis of 60 per cent of words in English and having originated languages such as French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, linguists will be thrilled to see schools building foundations for language learning at such an early age.
The most optimistic piece of news, though, is the formation of the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE), led by University College London with the British Council and Goethe-Institut.
This new initiative aims to close the gap in language education by increasing uptake of MFL qualifications at KS4 and KS5 in English state-funded schools.
Twenty-five lead hub schools across England will be selected by the NCLE, with each delivering training to up to seven partner schools to improve language teaching and learning across the country.
The initial 15 school hubs will start their work in September 2023 with further schools being recruited for 2024. The first phase of recruitment is now closed. However, the second phase is due to take place in early 2024, and schools can register their interest.
As such, although there are areas for improvement for language learning, there is cause for excitement in this work for all those who believe in the power of languages - not only as a valuable skill for future employment but also for the deep appreciation of the wider world that it fosters.
Scott McDonald is the chief executive of the British Council
