One of the top stories from this year’s GCSE results day is the drop in the number of students taking modern foreign languages (MFL).
When you break it down by subject, Spanish fares better than French, with a 2.4% drop in uptake compared with a 6% fall in French and 9.2% in German. This comes despite the fact that grades for languages have improved.
So, what is putting students off taking languages? We took to our community to find out:
We need to make languages relevant
Students can’t relate to how speaking a foreign language will be useful for them in their daily life. In modern-day Britain young people simply don’t have the need to speak French, Spanish or German especially with English translations of books and media readily available, and the rise of evolving (and ineffective) technologies such as Google Translate. We need to make language learning relevant to students’ lives and interests. This could be done by introducing popular foreign music and books into language learning.
Thomas Gibbs is training to be a French teacher.
Related: How I quadrupled the number of pupils taking German in my school
Language GCSEs are too hard
My school doesn’t have a problem recruiting student numbers at GCSE, but many students do find MFL subjects very difficult. The students get very stressed when taking the speaking examinations, for example, and there are three to four of these during the GCSE course. Once I asked three of the main characters in our school’s production of We Will Rock You which was the more nerve-wracking – sitting a controlled speaking assessment or singing live in front of a large audience ? They all instantly replied, “the speaking assessments every time!”.
Clive Flynn is head of modern foreign language faculty at Redborne Upper school.
We need more teaching time
I could write a book on why students aren’t taking up GCSE languages, but shall keep to the following points:
1. It’s not seen as a status subject in primary school, but rather a bolt-on that is studied once or twice a week. There is also a lack of qualified language teachers in primary schools because of a lack of money and recruitment difficulties.
2. Poor results nationally at GCSE also put children off – if it’s hard to pass, why would students take it?
3. GCSEs in languages are not fit for purpose. The courses are boring because controlled assessments favour rote learning (so coursework becomes a memory task). This puts bright students at an advantage.
4. English and maths are the key markers of a school’s progress, so the general feeling is why devote time and resources away from them?
5. Language lessons usually don’t get a lot of time on the school timetable. They can be taught for perhaps two hours a fortnight in some schools, which is not enough.
Jennifer Beattle is head of department in an 11-16 academy in London. She has been teaching French and Spanish for eight years.
English is seen as the only language worth learning
In my experience, speakers of other languages put great effort into learning English because they can virtually guarantee it will be of use to them in their futures and will improve their career prospects.
Mairi Smart is a modern foreign languages teacher and author.
Bad marking makes GCSE grades upredictable
The drop in numbers taking GCSEs in modern languages shows the long-term effect of languages being made non-compulsory back in 2004, coupled with the unpredictability in the marking of GCSEs and A-levels over the last few years. In GCSE, the marking of the controlled assessments has caused the most problems. Even though I have taught German for more than 20 years and have always felt I knew how to confidently spot an A* or a B grade piece of writing, grades were coming back that were simply not in line with what my colleagues and I were expecting.
The situation with German is even more serious. On top of the unpredictable marking, German is often perceived as a more difficult language to learn than French or Spanish, which is completely untrue. In my experience languages are very personal – some find Romance languages easier, others German, or Slavic, and German and English are similar in many ways. Spanish is the only language whose numbers are rising which I think is down to the fact that it has a much more fashionable image (food, music, sun, spirit of Latin America). Students and parents overlook Germany’s importance in the EU and as our second largest trade partner, as well as all of the culture and academia that originated in Germany.
• Sara Davidson, head of modern languages at Oundle school and chair of the Independent Schools’ Modern Languages Association (ISMLA).
Related: How to encourage students to pursue languages at GCSE and A-level
The drop in entries nationally is unsurprising given that languages are perceived as difficult subjects and as many pupils start language learning in earnest at secondary school due to varying levels of language learning at primary school.
Looking ahead, the challenge will be the introduction of the compulsory Ebacc for pupils starting secondary school this September as well as the new specifications or exam classes (which start in September 2016) in which controlled assessments no longer exist.
• Hannah Greene is head of modern foreign languages at La Retraite RC Girls’ School.
There is a shortage of good language teachers
The focus needs to be on schools finding good language teachers (of which there is a shortage) and primary schools delivering quality language lessons (again, difficult considering a lack of specialist teachers). Investment in language learning, training specialist language teachers and linking language learning at primary and secondary schools is vital.
Hannah Greene
But there is hope …
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Source:Why has there been a drop in students taking language GCSEs? Teachers' views