The university of Nottingham is the latest uni to confirm that modern languages courses will be closing permanently due to financial pressures and it makes me SO sad to think that some students will miss out on the chance to study languages because they’re not deemed ‘valuable’ enough to save.
A languages degree gives you so much more than just the ability to speak another language - it helps develop communication skills, confidence, cultural awareness and adaptability. Those skills are essential for many careers, and also open doors to international opportunities and connection across the world, in a time when we need it more than ever!!!
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6 hours agolauritajohanna
🙌🙌👏I literally had to beg and sit a proficiency exam to join A level Spanish because my school in Rotherham didn’t offer GCSE languages, it simply shouldn’t be like that. Languages should be accessible to all !
15 hours agosvtrose
As someone who just graduated with a degree in Asia Pacific studies with Korean language, and participated in a year abroad, the job market is becoming increasingly harder to find a job tailored to these degrees for recent graduates 🥹. I have been able to land no jobs relating to my study despite having lived and adapted in another country with a culture vastly different to mine. However it all just links to the job market being super hard to get into for recent graduates. I’m still looking for jobs, but it is difficult 💔
19 hours agodianereeves89
And you don't mention working abroad, or for NGOs like the United Nations. Languages are a must have for those roles. We are trapped inside our own country if we don't learn other languages
a day agolinidri_69
Given the amount of Duolingo obsessed people, the interest is definitely there! However many people think it's not worth doing an entire degree in a subject with plenty of adult learning options (not Duolingo, proper language courses with recognised qualifications). Audiovisual content in other languages are also freely available. This isn't an entirely illogical thought process since degrees are now so expensive and a year abroad for MFL isn't guaranteed.
a day agoellllaa._
the education system is general is on its knees - i trained as a french teacher straight out of uni and then spent last year teaching full time but it's such a miserable gig and it made me so unwell that i left and now work in international sales for a japanese company. i really did want to inspire more students to take languages to GCSE and beyond, but when the job of teaching itself has become so draining and you're continually expected to do more with less while having diminished respect from the community and even the rest of the school because you "just" teach languages... it became too much to bear. if we want students taking languages to high levels, it starts with investing in our teachers.
a day agoemma_rose140
As a languages teacher, it makes me mad. We so desperately want to share our passion, but when so many schools don’t value languages or promote them, and the government doesn’t either, it makes it really hard to increase take up. Plus, a lot of KS3 courses are super boring, when the GCSE and A Level courses are better, but people don’t want to stay around to find that out. Also, they’ve massively dumbed down the new GCSE, which means people can get full marks even though they’re not accurate, which then means they get to A Level or speaking with someone from that country and they can’t string a sentence together or manipulate grammar correctly.
2 days agoisl.dddddd
I'm a current languages student who applied to Nottingham around the time they cut their courses. They gave me a conditonal offer and two weeks later I hear from the news (not even the uni until later) that they were cutting the course I had applied to. They tried to offer me international relations instead! Shocking. Makes me so, so sad. Languages are my passion. Thank you for your post!!
2 days agostremiana
Really important post! I worry about this A LOT as a secondary MFL teacher. Thank you for this!
2 days agofirs.tpoet
Yvette Cooper, Labour Education Minister dropped MFL from key GCSEs list on the grounds it was just too hard for Brit kids. Just...too hard for the poor dears. During EU we couldn't even fill our EU government jobs quota. Poor languages. Rejoin? Fee Brits worked in EU ( retirees went to Spain etc). The days of barking English at people have long gone. We'll have thousands of EU grads coming to UK from high unemployment EU ( Finland currently 13%) to compete with you in UK. My young Finnish/ English grandkids already fluently speak Finnish, English, Swedish and some French.
2 days agohamthony26
I study at the University of Lancashire on the modern languages course and not only have they cut many of the languages and the staff, my exact degree no longer exists. Instead of studying two languages like I do they now only offer 'Japanese studies' or 'Korean studies' and many of their language related masters degrees that I looked into when I applied no longer exist. Its really worrying to see how little we care about the study of languages now
2 days agobridgetsaul
I am an MFL teacher with 30 years' experience. I also have an MA in MFL Education and was a Headteacher for 11 years and have seen issues related to MFL teaching and learning from varying angles. That pupils are no longer required to choose a language to GCSE has certainly impacted on uptake at A Level and beyond. Brexit has seen less native linguistic support in the form of language assistants and the GCSE curriculum is very content heavy at Key Stage 4 with topics to which teenagers find it a challenge to relate. The focus on compulsory language learning at Key Stage 2 is a good idea yet the quality of teaching is patchy and the programmes of study from Year 6 to Year 7 do not adequately define standards and many primary schools are challenged to recruit MFL teachers. I also see the impact of the government's focus on STEM in pupils' GCSE and A Level choices.
2 days agobyloujane
Please check out @success4allcio and education charity here in Newcastle delivering language support shed services to schools across the region through [email protected]
2 days agokoscielniak.karolina
this is why a foreign language should be mandatory throughout the entire education
2 days agobobbyjean123
This is so sad to read! I studied French and Spanish at Leicester and graduated in 2010. I had the absolute best time on my year abroad and it brought my confidence up SO much!
2 days ago_zoe_kate.x
My languages course also closed around 3 years after I graduated. I ultimately think the issues lies in the fact we do not start language learning early enough in the UK... Primary schools have non-specialists teaching a language for one hour a week to pupils when realistically it needs to start at the end of KS1, start of KS2 and taught consistently. In my opinion, this is why we are so behind our european neighbours, of course paired with general ignorance and reliance on English 😢
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