Language education in the United Kingdom

Until the 1960s foreign language education was mostly confined to grammar and independent schools.[4] Following the introduction of comprehensive education in the 1960s the provision of language education at secondary level, mostly French, expanded[4] and many primary schools introduced foreign languages as part of the 'Primary School Language Project'.[5] However, by the 1970s the status of French in primary schools was in question with the inflencial report 'Primary French in the Balance' ensuring that 11 was the age that most began studying French.[4]

As part of the National Curriculum, a Modern Languages working group was established in 1989.[6] As a result all children at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 were required to study a modern foreign language.[7] However, concerns were expressed as to whether the time devoted to learning modern languages was sufficient for acquisition to take place and the extent to which French had become the dominant language.[7]

The authoritative report Language Trends has been published annually since 2002 by the British Council.[8]

In 2000, modular AS levels were introduced, to be taken in year 12, which counted 50% towards the final A-level result: it spread the risk of the exam result over two years, but any number of resit exams were possible.

Since 2014 the National Curriculum has required that pupils in Key Stage 2 must study an ancient or modern foreign language. Pupils in Key Stage 3 must study a modern foreign language.[9]

From September 2016, in England, AS levels no longer counted towards the A-level; many took AS level language courses up to year 12 only; the new A-levels are called linear A-levels.

In 2018, new modern language GCSEs were introduced in England and Wales. In January 2019, the National Centre for Excellence for Language was established at the University of York, to coordinate modern language education in England, with nine school hubs across England; of the nine schools, two are grammar schools and two are faith schools.

In 2017, a survey by the CBI found that employers most need people with skills and fluency in French, German and Spanish.

From 2010 to 2018, French GCSE entries dropped by 29% and German GCSE entries dropped by 37%. But Spanish GCSE entries from 2010 to 2018 rose considerably.[10]

From 2011 to 2018, French A-level entries have dropped from around 12,000 to just under 8,000. According to Joint Council for Qualifications, language GCSE entries have halved since 2005. There was a slight increase in French GCSE entries in 2018 and 2019; entries for Spanish are on course to overtake entries for French by 2030.

Ancient languages are being reintroduced into more English secondary schools, such as Latin.[11] A £4m Department for Education scheme will initially be rolled out across 40 schools as part of a four-year pilot programme for 11- to 16-year-olds starting in September 2022. As well as language teaching, the Latin Excellence Programme will also include visits to Roman heritage sites to provide pupils with a greater understanding of classics and the ancient world. The initiative aims to boost GCSE Latin entries and will be modelled on the success of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, launched in 2016 in response to the growing importance of Mandarin as a global language. The programme now involves 75 schools across the country with more than 6,000 pupils learning Mandarin towards fluency.[11]

Language education in England is provided in the National Curriculum by the Department for Education.

The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.[12]

Language education in Northern Ireland is provided in the Northern Ireland Curriculum by the Department of Education (Northern Ireland).

At Key Stage 2 it is compulsory to for primary schools to study ancient and modern languages.[13] French is offered at around 75% of primary schools, with Spanish at about 25% and German at about 5%, with about 45 minutes per week of language learning per school.[14]

At Key Stage 3 it is compulsory for secondary schools to study modern languages.

GCSE modern foreign languages and GCSE ancient languages are studied at Key Stage 4. Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Bengali, Mandarin, Greek, Gujarati, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu are studied.[15]

The English Baccalaureate was introduced in 2011, which has modern and ancient language requirements. Languages at GCSE are much more popular at single sex secondary schools than for co-educational state secondary schools; many grammar schools are also single sex schools. Many language teachers are female; in some secondary schools all language teachers are female, supplying limited role models for some teenage males.[16]

Modular AS levels had been introduced to form 50% of the total A-level result from 2000, but this was stopped from 2016.

• Knowsley 0 (Knowsley only entered 61 A-levels in 2016)
• Sandwell 4
• Blackburn 5
• Luton 5
• Redcar and Cleveland 5
• Thurrock 5
• Wolverhampton 5
• Barnsley 6
• Hartlepool 6
• Stockton 6
• Blackpool 7
• Rochdale 7
• Salford 7
• South Tyneside 7
• Tameside 7
• Barking 9
• Haringey 9
• Bolton 10
• Halton 10
• Middlesbrough 10
• North Lincolnshire 10
• Swindon 10
• Bracknell Forest 11
• Bradford 11
• Tower Hamlets 11
• Hackney 12
• Medway 12
• Sunderland 12
• Gateshead 13
• Southwark 14
• Doncaster 15
• North East Lincolnshire 15
• Southampton 15
• Calderdale 17
• North Somerset 17
• Oldham 17
• Windsor and Maidenhead 17
• Stockport 18
• Stoke-on-Trent 18
• Wakefield 18
• Walsall 18
• Bedford 19
• Coventry 19
• Kingston upon Hull 19
• North Tyneside 19

Outer London enters considerably more French A-levels than Inner London; Inner London enters few French A-levels.

• Hampshire 223
• Kent 196
• Hertfordshire 182
• Surrey 165
• Essex 148
• Buckinghamshire 143
• Gloucestershire 135
• Lancashire 116
• Oxfordshire 115
• North Yorkshire 107
• Birmingham 104

• Hampshire 101
• Hertfordshire 91
• Lancashire 78
• Essex 75
• Kent 64
• Surrey 58
• Lincolnshire 57
• Buckinghamshire 51