Vicky Gough takes a look at the results of the latest British Council Language Trends England survey and finds schools struggling, but hope for the future with the creation of the new national network of lead hub schools across England.
While conducting this year’s Language Trends England survey, one schoolteacher shared their struggle to recruit an experienced language teacher. In the end, they hired the only candidate who was interviewed.
Unfortunately, this has become a common issue nationwide. Sixty per cent of schools reported challenges in recruiting qualified language teachers this year, with state schools particularly affected - nearly a third described recruitment as a “major issue.”
This problem is cyclical and has been growing for years. Since 2004, when language GCSEs became non-mandatory in England, French entries, for example, have more than halved. Lower GCSE uptake has impacted A-level numbers, especially in German and French, which have dwindled over the past two decades causing universities to struggle to fill courses. A report from the University Council for Languages revealed that 14 modern language departments have closed in the last ten years alone, meaning a smaller pool going into teacher training and so ultimately reducing the number of qualified language teachers entering the workforce. Additionally, barriers like overseas student fees mean it is more challenging to recruit trainees from outside the UK.
Each year, when discussing the issue of falling language uptake in schools with the media I am asked the same question - does it really matter? Our research last year found UK pupils do not think they will use a second language in their future careers - so why should they study them? It's also noted that while French and German decline, Spanish has increased, raising the question of whether pupil preferences are simply shifting.
Firstly, it does matter. Learning languages offers numerous personal benefits such as improving intercultural skills, memory, concentration, and enriching travel experiences. Languages also benefit the UK as a whole. Professor Wendy Ayres Bennett’s 2022 research emphasised the importance of investing in language education, noting that it helps overcome trade barriers and fosters international business relations. The study found that investments in UK language education could yield returns greater than the costs, with benefit-to-cost ratios of at least 2:1 for promoting Arabic, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. Plus language skills are important for diplomacy and security
If pupils don’t see the career benefits of languages, more must be done to highlight them. While subjects like computer science and maths provide core job skills, knowing multiple languages broadens job prospects, makes candidates more attractive to employers, and can even increase salaries compared to monolingual employees. To make young people more aware of these advantages, they need to see languages in practice.
The rise in Spanish uptake is encouraging, but Spanish’s surge is partly due to its visibility in pop culture and media, increasing its perceived usefulness. Showcasing other languages through international engagement programmes can boost student interest. Unfortunately, there is a growing disparity in opportunities, with independent schools offering greater access. For example, nearly three times as many independent schools reported hosting language assistants compared to 24 per cent of state schools.
To address these gaps, a comprehensive plan is needed. Work has begun, and the British Council is a proud delivery partner of the National Consortium of Languages Education, which has created a national network of lead hub schools across England. Each lead hub school works with up to seven partner schools to improve language teaching and learning standards. This autumn, NCLE will launch a universal professional development programme for all language teachers in England, free of charge.
The Language Hubs programme supports state-funded schools to increase uptake and attainment for all students in languages at GCSE and includes a specific German Promotion Project led by the Goethe-Institut to address the decline in German entries. The programme also aims to increase support for home, heritage, and community languages and improve the transition between Key Stage 2 (7-11 years old) junior school and Key Stage 3 (11-14 years old) secondary school.
In a multilingual and multicultural Britain, every child should have the opportunity to learn a breadth of languages. The UK government has committed to increasing the number of teachers in schools, offering the opportunity to address the language learning deficit and bridge the social divide in education.