Each year, the British Council’s Language Trends survey asks schools about language learning and teaching for primary and secondary school-age children across England. In February and March 2023, the British Council conducted its latest survey.

In this article, we evaluate some of the key findings and consider what these results mean for the future of language learning in the UK.

Survey Findings by Key Stage

The 2022 survey showed that language learning was in slow recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic – and the 2023 survey backs up this trend. Plans are also newly in motion to improve the uptake of German and other modern languages in schools.

Primary schools (Key Stage 2)

While languages are an established part of the primary school curriculum, language learning is a common casualty in the classroom if teachers need to run catch-up sessions on literacy and numeracy. However, 82% of primary schools have been teaching languages to pupils for at least the past five years (which has been on the rise since before the pandemic, from 75% in 2019). French was the most popular language taught to primary school pupils, with 72% of students learning French, 28% Spanish and 7% learning German, Latin or Mandarin. Other languages that appeared in small numbers in the survey include Arabic, British Sign Language, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese and Sanskrit.

Resourcing language learning has been identified as an issue, with most resources either purchased from commercial providers or being produced in schools – yet 71% of primary schools receive no funding for language-learning resources (however, some local council funding was available to schools teaching recently arrived Ukrainian pupils). Technology is often used in the classroom to support language-learning delivery for teachers with limited language skills – apps were useful in 40% of primary schools.

While 87% of primary schools include pupils for whom English is not their first language, 21% of English primary school pupils are recorded as having a different first language. The language diversity that this brings into the classroom provides an opportunity for involving children and their parents in language education. Many teachers also place a focus on the interconnectedness of different languages and cultures rather than highlighting their differences. As the British Council notes: “This linguistic diversity enriches the experiences of all children in our society.”

International activities with partner schools overseas have been on the decline since Brexit – a decline that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated. However, from a low point in 2021, there are signs that international engagement is increasing towards pre-pandemic levels, if not pre-Brexit levels.

Primary school teachers are often expected to teach a language they cannot speak themselves, so there were many calls for increased professional learning opportunities for teachers. Teachers also noted that an improved transition from primary (Key Stage 2) to secondary (Key Stage 3) schools would help pupils retain their language skills – only 3% of secondary schools were able to accommodate all their pupils to continue with the language they were taught in primary school. However, communication between primary and secondary schools does appear to be improving after a slump during the pandemic.

Secondary and independent schools (Key Stages 3 and 4)

The three most popular languages remain French (taught in 87% of secondary schools at Key Stage 3 and 89% at Key Stage 4), Spanish (75% and 76%) and German (35% and 38%). The figures are higher for independent schools, with French at 97% for both key stages, Spanish at 93% and 96%, and German at 75% and 79% – German is clearly more supported at independent schools.

But what of other languages? In state secondary schools, Mandarin is the next most popular language, while Latin holds that position in independent schools. The Department for Education’s Mandarin Excellence Programme may explain the increase in state schools – and with a similar programme now in place for Latin learning in state schools, perhaps Latin will become more popular in state schools too. German is another language that is receiving attention and funding to encourage learners into further study.

GCSE entries have declined slightly for all of the ‘big three’ languages, but it is encouraging to see a jump in exam entries for other modern languages. However, only a tenth of state secondary schools see all pupils entered for a language GCSE, which is a long way from the government’s goal of 90% of pupils. The figure is higher in independent schools (31%), but the larger question for future surveys is whether upcoming changes to GCSE specifications might encourage pupils to commit to languages with more confidence.

A-Level entries

Spanish continues to be the most popular language at A-Level, with more students studying Spanish than French for the fourth year in a row. German continues to trend lower than both languages, though entries for other modern languages have increased since a steep drop in 2018.

Class size continues to be an issue for many A-Level classes, but Spanish tends to be able to generate a stable class size.

International cultural institutes are a source of engagement for only 20% of state schools and 50% of independent schools. However, many cross-cultural opportunities still exist, despite the impact of Brexit and the lack of access to Erasmus funding. Raising awareness of the opportunities for funding international education and training will be key if English pupils are to make early cross-cultural connections through language learning.

Conclusion

Languages undoubtedly suffered during the pandemic – but the same is true for many courses of study, and the future of language learning in schools includes new strategies for advancing language learning and ambitious

targets for language take-up. Combine this with the increase in popularity of other modern languages, and the future seems reassuringly bright.

Language skills are a key indicator of wider economic success, so resourcing schools (and providing training for teachers) from primary age onwards is pivotal for pupil engagement with languages. The challenge for schools is to maintain an early interest in language through to Key Stage 3 and beyond, which may be a product of increased international engagement, greater connectivity between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3, and more appealing GCSE specifications.

Future surveys are likely to invite the views of young people as well as schools and their teachers to provide more insight into their attitudes to language learning in schools. To find out more about the findings of the latest Language Trends 2023 survey, click here.