MFL teaching and Brexit

[JaneEyre]

BREXIT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGES FOR BRITAIN

https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/opinion-brex ... -britain-4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JaneEyre]

PLAN NOW TO AVOID POST-BREXIT LANGUAGES CRISIS, SAY MPS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-376 ... 491809#_=_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JaneEyre]

THE UNFORTUNATE DEMISE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING
With Brexit isolationism and English speakers resting on their laurels, Charlie Stone stresses the importance of engaging in foreign languages

http://www.varsity.co.uk/culture/10888" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hermanmunster]

PLAN NOW TO AVOID POST-BREXIT LANGUAGES CRISIS, SAY MPS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-376 ... 491809#_=_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

JE - I haven't read this article but I am not sure that MFL teaching and problems with it has got anything to do with Brexit. The numbers doing Language A level and Uni courses have been dropping for a long time with several uni departments closing. The attached shows some figures over the last 14 years with most dropping year on year.

[Guest55]

The probem began when MFL was no longer compulsory in KS4 - that is many years ago now.

In response, schools had to reduce their teaching staff to match the lower numbers taking GCSE and so the MFL deartment had a lower profile. This became a spiral as the lower the profile the less able the department is to 'sell' itself and so the numbers drop further.

If students don't take GCSE then then won't take A level ..

[Amber]

Interestingly though, and the only glimmer of light here, is that universities are reporting an upturn in students studying languages as 'extras' which are now more widely available - a quick google here showed that many universities are making this easy for students to do. My own DD has somewhat unexpectedly opted to study a language as part of her course - from scratch- with this being potentially part of her final degree now. I was rather pleasantly surprised by this turn of events and also by how very easy it was for her to sign up to do this. The courses were actually so well subscribed that an extra group had to be laid on.

English native speakers have long had a rather arrogant attitude to language-learning as 'everyone' speaks English (and if they don't, they jolly well should!). The problem is not Brexit, it is deeper ingrained than that, and while I agree that Brexit has brought out some very nasty tendencies in some racist elements, I think the effect on young people has been exactly the reverse - many feel more European than ever, more inclined to learn languages and also more inclined to leave this country as soon as they can!

[kenyancowgirl]

I wonder if the profile of languages studied is changing for other reasons too? For example, whereas French used to be compulsory in Year 7, alongside Latin, it has been dropped in favour of the "growing" global language of Mandarin, a trend which has been replicated in other schools I am aware of (albeit many of them are private.)

[yoyo123]

Girls at my school in Cheltenham studied Russian. I thought that was quite common, until Mr Yoyo pointed out to me
about 10 years ago that maybe the proximity GCHQ might have something to do with it.

[kenyancowgirl]

[hermanmunster]

The problem began when MFL was no longer compulsory in KS4 - that is many years ago now.

.

I guessed that much of it was to do with that - when did it actually happen, I can't remember.- The grammar schools locally continued to encourage pupils to do at least one language GCSE but there were still a few who couldn't face it and the school gave up trying.