Addressing the language crisis in schools and universities

In 2004, the government removed the necessity for students to study a foreign language until the end of Key Stage 4 (age 16) from the national curriculum. Prior to that, three quarters of young people took a GCSE in a foreign languages, with 318,000 entires for GCSE in French in 2004, 122,000 for German and 64,000 for Spanish.

By 2010, with languages now compulsory only until the end of Key Stage 3 (age 13), only 43 per cent of students took a foreign language for GCSE. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc), which required students to take GCSEs in core subjects, encouraged schools to enter their students into foreign language GCSE exams, and saw 45 per cent of students taking a language GCSE after an initial spike.

These systemic changes to the English (and Welsh) education system form the backdrop of the Higher Education Policy Institute’s (HEPI) report: ‘The Language Crisis: Arresting decline, written by Megan Bowler. The report looks at the deep challenges language educators face as language learning declines in the UK.

In 2024, only 2.97 per cent of A-levels taken in 2024 were for modern foreign languages (MFL), classical subjects, Welsh (second language) and Irish, with more A-level entries for Physical Education (PE) than for French, German and classical languages combined.

The report also identifies socioeconomic factors at play, with the percentage of Year 11 pupils studying a language for GCSE being twenty points lower in poorer areas than in affluent ones (69 per cent versus 46-47 per cent).

Additionally, language teacher recruitment consistently sits well below government targets, with just 43 per cent of the target fulfilled in 2024.

Since 2024, 17 post-1992 universities have lost their modern languages degrees, bringing the total closures to 28 and leaving modern languages in just ten.

The report thus makes several recommendations for the future, including a greater force behind recruiting language teachers, offering alternative language-learning opportunities aside from GCSEs, not to disregard British Sign Language )BSL), and to make languages a bigger priority in higher education.

Megan Bowler, the report’s author and DPhil student in Classics at the University of Oxford said: “Language learning is facing new challenges. There is a common misconception that Google Translate and now AI tools are making language capabilities redundant. On the contrary, the skills and intellectual values that a “linguistic mindset” can install are even more important in this age of rapid technological change. Close and critical analysis, oracy, cultural adaptability, creative problem-solving, precision and clarity of expression are exactly what ChatGPT struggles to replace.

“In the UK, languages disciplines are facing a vicious cycle. For the majority of schools, problems with teacher recruitment are leading to even lower rates of participation in language learning. Low uptake in higher education is leading to cuts in university language provision and degree programmes. The shortage of language skills in holding employers back and the teacher recruitment crisis continues worsening. Intervention and investment are needed to prevent a critical skills deficit.