Modern languages
05 September 2013
MODERN LANGUAGES
1. The UK lags behind international competitors in language learning and intercultural skills and islosing out in the global race.
2. The British Council creates opportunities for UK learners to develop their foreign language skills by providing real-life global connections.
3. The British Council brings its world leadership in English language teaching to help UK language learners engage with the world.
The UK lags behinds international competitors
• While English has emerged as the dominant international language of the 21st century, the languages with the greatest potential for UK trade are Mandarin, Russian, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic. Our competitors are ahead of the UK in developing the language and intercultural skills needed to build the trust on which success in these markets depends.
• Businesses are far more likely to succeed in new markets if they understand the local culture and can communicate in the native tongue, yet 95 per cent of business owners have no knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and less than one per cent feel that they can converse fluently in the language1.
• The most common languages on offer in secondary schools are French, Spanish and German. Pupils in independent schools have more opportunities to learn a wider range of languages. For example, Mandarin is offered in 36 per cent of independent schools in England but only 14 per cent of maintained schools (Language Trends Survey 2011).
• Competence in modern languages is essential in increasing trust, trade and engagement between and within societies. Multilingualism improves individual worker’s employability and job mobility while offering businesses the tools they need to expand into new markets.
The British Council creates opportunities for UK learners to develop their language skills
• Every year we support thousands of UK students to spend a year abroad developing their language and intercultural skills. We also bring native speakers into UK classrooms to support young people studying modern languages through the Language Assistants scheme.
• We promote the study of modern languages, intercultural understanding and international skills in schools through school partnerships, advice for teachers and learning materials. Each year we work with around 30 per cent of UK schools.
• We are using our global expertise in teaching English as a foreign language to support English language teaching in the UK.
A world leader in language teaching
• The British Council is a leading provider of high quality English language learning opportunities around the world. No organisation does more to share the English language worldwide.
• Through its global network of teaching centres the British Council teaches English to over 300,000 learners a year. In 2012–13 alone we delivered three million English examinations.
• Our work with education ministries overseas is helping to transform English teaching in schools around the world. In India we have trained 750,000 teachers to date.
• The experience the British Council has in teaching English overseas informs our work in promoting modern languages in UK schools.
FACTS
• According to the Education and Employers Task Force, poor language competency is resulting in a loss of at least £7.3 billion per annum to the UK economy – that’s 0.5 per cent of GDP2.
• Policy for language learning in UK schools is devolved. However, while policies differ all four countries of the UK have experienced significant declines in the study of non-native languages. In England the number of GCSE students has fallen from 78 per cent in 2001 to 40 per cent in 2011 (Language Trends Survey). In Wales, where bilingualism is widespread and the study of Welsh compulsory to GCSE, foreign language learning has fallen from 41 per cent of GCSE students in 1999 to 28 per cent in 2007 (Estyn, 2009). Northern Ireland saw a decline of 18.5 per cent between 2007 and 2010 (Languages for the Future strategy, 2012). Analysis from Scotland also shows long-term though less dramatic decline – in 2010, 67 per cent of students took a language exam at age 16 (SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, 2011).
• A 2013 Populus poll found that 78 per cent of UK adults cannot speak a foreign language to a high standard.
• A Department for Education study in 2012 found that only nine per cent of pupils in England taking French to GCSE progressed from GCSE to A-level.
• A 2012 European Commission study found that only nine per cent of English pupils surveyed at age 15 were competent in their first foreign language beyond a basic level, compared to 42 per cent of their peers across the EU.
• Despite a 3.5 per cent increase in the number of students applying to university in 2013, applications to study modern languages fell by 6.7 per cent3. Modern languages have been designated ‘strategically important and vulnerable subjects’ by the Higher Education Funding Council for England since 2005 – recognition that there is a national skills shortage in modern languages.
• Our Culture at Work research found that businesses value intercultural and language skills for bringing in new clients, building trust and protecting reputations. The British Council’s contribution to the teaching and learning of modern languages in the UK
• In 2012–13 we hosted 1,825 Foreign Language Assistants in the UK, bringing native speakers into UK classrooms to help improve UK learners’ language skills and develop their intercultural skills.
• In 2012–13 we sent over 2,500 English Language Assistants to work in 14 countries. Working as a language assistant provides students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local language and culture.
• In 2011–12 we supported 13,668 overseas study and work placements through the European Union’s Erasmus programme.
• The British Council has been working with partner HSBC to promote the study of Chinese language and culture in the UK since 2000. February 2013 saw the tenth anniversary of the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition, which rewards students who have made the effort to master Mandarin from scratch. Together, we also run annual Chinese summer schools for primary school pupils at two UK locations, and support Mandarin teaching through the Chinese Language Assistants programme – native speakers who have been coming to work in UK classrooms for the past 11 years.
• We have created thousands of partnerships between UK schools and counterparts overseas through our Connecting Classrooms, eTwinning and Comenius programmes, increasing young people’s international awareness and creating opportunities to learn about other cultures and languages.
• Our International School Award programme, involving thousands of schools across the sectors, encourages, celebrates and accredits international activity. Many schools use a focus on language such as linking with francophone African countries to support French, and Brazil to develop Portuguese.
English in the UK
The most recent census data revealed that nearly 140,000 people living in England and Wales cannot speak English, while a further 726,000 had only a weak grasp of the language. The British Council is using its global expertise in teaching English as a foreign language to support English language teaching in the UK through the ESOL Nexus project, by bringing together expertise to share best practice, by providing teaching materials and thereby building capacity in the sector.
1 British Chambers of Commerce survey 2013
2 The economic case for language learning 2011
3 UCAS
