Key findings from Language Trends England 2023:
- Spanish has the highest number of A-level entries in schools across England for the fourth year running while French remains the most popular language at GCSE level.
- Schools’ international engagement showing signs of improvement post pandemic.
- Nearly nine out of ten primary schools have pupils for whom English is an additional language.
- More than 35,000 entries for Other Modern Languages outside French, German and Spanish at GCSE, the highest number recorded in a Language Trends report.
- Mandarin Chinese the most popular language after French, Spanish and German taught at Key Stage 3 in state schools.
- Launch of a National Consortium for Languages Education to improve German and uptake in Other Modern Languages.
Spanish is predicted to remain the most popular A-level language in schools across England while German falls behind at GCSE level, according to new British Council research which launched on Thursday.
The new Language Trends 2023 report surveyed teachers at more than 1,300 primary, secondary and independent schools across England to gather information about language teaching and learning.
The research was carried out by Dr Ian Collen, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages Education (PGCE) and Director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (NICILT) at Queen’s University Belfast.
It is the 21st report by the British Council into language trends in England. The 2023 report follows on from research in 2022, which found language lessons were in slow recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Primary schools
Nine out of ten responding primary schools taught languages in 2022-2023. Like 2022’s findings, 82% of schools said they have taught languages for at least the past five years, an increase from 78% in 2021.
However, research shows lesson time is constricted, with one third of respondents saying language lessons have been affected by pupils spending extra time on literacy and numeracy. Meanwhile more than two thirds (71.8%) of primary school teachers said they received no funding to develop resources for language teaching this year.
Teachers commented that ‘the constraints of time’ inhibit the delivery of high-quality language teaching, echoing 2022’s report which revealed some pupils were receiving less than 30 minutes of language lessons per week. The ideal conditions are a minimum of one hour per week, delivered by a teacher with degree-level proficiency in the language.
While French continues to be the most taught language in primary schools, research indicates some variation of the languages being offered, with Latin appearing in the ‘top four’ for the first time.
Transition to secondary schools
Nearly half (49%) of primary schools reported having contact with local secondary schools in relation to language learning, reflecting an increase of 9% from data collected in 2022.
A positive outcome from this has been slow to emerge though, with only 9% of responding secondary schools saying Year 7 pupils are better prepared for language learning.
Key Stage 3
French continues to be the most popular language at Key Stage 3, taught in 87% of responding state schools and 97% of responding independent schools, followed closely by Spanish in 75% and 93% of state and independent schools respectively.
German is much more secure in the independent sector than the state sector, but still trails French and Spanish.
After the “Big 3”, Chinese (Mandarin) is the most popular language taught as a full curriculum subject in state secondary schools. Latin holds this spot in the independent sector.
GCSE and A Level
While French, Spanish and German still dominate language take-up at GCSE level, the report shows more than 35,000 entries for Other Modern languages, the highest number recorded in a Language Trends report.
At A-level, Spanish is the most popular language for the fourth year running with 8,496 entries, knocking French out of the top spot.
Just one in ten responding state schools report that all their pupils are taking a language for GCSE, compared to three in ten independent schools. It is important to note, however, that state schools reported a positive increase in pupils studying a language at KS4 over the past three years.
The data also confirm there is still a considerable way to go to accomplish the government’s ambition that 90% of young people in Year 10 take a GCSE in a Modern Foreign Language by September 2025.
International engagement improving
More schools are reporting that they have some international engagement in 2023, but there is still progress to be made for schools to reach pre-pandemic levels, as the tables below demonstrate:
International engagement in primary schools
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
The school has one or more partner schools abroad |
35% |
27% |
19% |
18% |
19% |
20% |
|
Involvement in international projects |
22% |
16% |
10% |
8% |
10% |
10% |
|
Host a language assistant |
5% |
5% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
|
None |
46% |
51% |
61% |
64% |
67% |
62% |
International engagement in secondary schools
|
|
State Schools |
Independent Schools |
||||||
|
|
2018 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2018 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
The school has one or more partner schools abroad |
31% |
31% |
30% |
28% |
41% |
42% |
48% |
40% |
|
We host language assistants |
23% |
21% |
21% |
22% |
50% |
69% |
61% |
63% |
|
None |
11% |
38% |
45% |
36% |
3% |
11% |
18% |
9% |
Increasing future uptake of German and other languages
The Department for Education has invested £14.9m to establish a National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE), a programme to be run by University College London, British Council and the Goethe-Institut to establish a cluster of “Hub Schools” to increase uptake of language qualifications in KS4 & 5. There will be a particular emphasis on increasing the uptake of German.
In comparison with independent school figures, German numbers are lower in state secondary schools by around 40% at Key Stages 3 and 4, and 35% at post-16. The NCLE also aims to improve the transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 and provide more opportunities for disadvantaged pupils.
Dr Ian Collen said: “The data from this year’s Language Trends report show clear areas for improvement in schools across England, particularly in relation to the time and resource placed in language learning and the uptake of German at GCSE and A Level.
“However, it is reassuring to see positive steps being taken by decision-makers to improve languages in England. We hope to report on the positive effects implemented and supported by the new NCLE and its GIMAGINE project in future Language Trends research.”
Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser at the British Council, said: “After worrying signs of decline in language learning and evidence of a growing social divide when it comes to children learning modern languages, formation of the NCLE (National Consortium for Languages) is welcome news, and the British Council is proud to be part of the consortium.
“However, progress still needs to be made to rebuild international engagement in schools in England which has strongly declined over the last few years. We need to give our young people more opportunities to learn about and engage with different cultures. Languages open so many doors – not only are they a valuable skill highly sought after by employers, but they also allow for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the wider world.”
Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council, said: “It’s interesting to see most responding primary schools have some pupils for whom English is an additional language. This linguistic diversity enriches our society, but also verifies the importance of children in England learning languages, which leads to the development of intercultural skills.
“Young people are the teachers, leaders, and change-makers of the future and they deserve the best opportunity to learn from and cooperate with people from other countries and cultures from an early age.
“The British Council remains dedicated to working with schools and educators to make language learning a priority and to help our young people succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.”