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Language education in the United Kingdom

Teaching of modern languages in the UK

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History

1900s

Linguaphone (company) was founded in 1901, becoming a significant company by the 1970s, with Berlitz of the US, which was founded in 1878, but Berlitz largely teaches English.

In 1907 Donald Mackay, 11th Lord Reay was appointed to the Treasury Committee on the Organisation of Oriental Studies in London, and produced a report in 1909; he had worked with the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1890s.

1910s

Stanley Mordaunt Leathes (1861–1938) was appointed in 1916 to set up the Leathes Committee, which found in the Report on the Position of Modern Languages in the Educational System of Great Britain, in 1918 that European languages should be taught.

1920s

In January 1926 the National Union of Women Teachers proposed teaching foreign languages in primary schools.

1940s

The British government provided no official language training for its diplomats until January 1943, under a White Paper proposal by Anthony Eden when the Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service, the Commercial Diplomatic Service and the Consular Service were merged. In 1944 the Foreign Office Russian Studies Committee produced a report on the teaching of Russian

1950s

After the Second World War, there was a much greater impetus for learning spoken foreign languages, such as German. Germany was subdivided into British and American sectors. Previous to the Second World War, the spoken language was not that urgently required. This grammar–translation method would persist until the 1960s.

At a North of England education conference in December 1959, Dr A Hay, the chief education inspector of London County Council, proposed some primary school language tuition, but only for gifted children.

1960s

Until the 1960s foreign language education was mostly confined to grammar and independent schools. There were government plans for language teaching in primary schools, but the plans were dropped, due to the obvious situation of insufficiently trained teachers.

Secondary modern schools had limited modern language teaching, being occasionally found in the top stream of such schools, but often there was none at all.

On 22 February 1962 Conservative MP John Cordeaux asked the education secretary about foreign language teaching in primary schools. The government was to implement an experimental scheme to attempt French teaching in some primary schools, in nine areas across England and Wales, from September 1964, in conjunction with the Nuffield Foundation. By 1968, 850 Scottish primary schools taught French, with 200 out of Glasgow's 212 primary schools.

The Schools Council was founded in October 1964, which looked at the curriculum.

1970s

Following the introduction of comprehensive education in the 1960s the provision of language education at secondary level, mostly French, expanded and many primary schools introduced foreign languages as part of the 'Primary School Language Project' in the early 1970s. However, by the 1970s the status of French in primary schools was in question with the influential report 'Primary French in the Balance' ensuring that 11 was the age that most began studying French. Primary French teaching mostly finished in 1974, after reports by Clare Burstall published on December 9, 1970, and in December 1974. But Tameside, Kent and East Sussex continued some teaching, with East Sussex finishing by 1997.

The National Council for Modern Languages was founded in June 1972 for FE and HE teachers.

From 1970 to 1975 French A-level entries dropped from 25,925 to 17,025 and German entries from 7,520 to 5,516. The move to comprehensive schools had not been seen to help language teaching to flourish, so a national survey of language teaching was conducted by five HM Inspectors of Schools in 83 comprehensive schools took place from 1975 to 1976, which resulted in the ungenerous DES report Modern Languages in Comprehensive Schools published on Thursday 17 March 1977. The report said that language teaching was often too 'mechanical' and inflexible, not nuanced.

The DES report said that mixed ability language classes were not a resounding success, that 'there was grave cause for concern' about bright children trying to learn languages at comprehensive schools, and that not enough was being done to help them. Teaching in sixth forms was 'no less disquieting'. Comprehensive schools had introduced language teaching, nominally for all, at some comprehensive schools, although most comprehensive schools only offered such language teaching to the top 60-80%, at most. Only a minority at such schools continued languages after 14.

Due to more language teachers being required, it became more difficult for comprehensive schools to offer two languages for those taking languages after 14. Under the former grammar school system, taking two languages up to 16 was never any profound difficulty; the grammar schools had enough teachers, and enough people capable of learning two languages. Comprehensive schools often had neither. The 1977 report also questioned why only people who took French A-level were able to continue French to 18, when there were many other people at 16 who had some capability in languages. Other European countries did not do this. Many former grammar school teachers found language teaching across wide abilities in comprehensive schools difficult. It found, over the 83 secondary schools, that there was one pass in a language O-level, or CSE grade 1, at 16, for every ten children at 16.

In the 1977 report, it found that many heads of language departments 'showed little awareness of the responsibilities they bore, beyond the walls of their own classrooms', leading some less-experienced teachers to flounder on their own, when such teachers needed to be assisted.

The British Overseas Trade Board (BOTB) held a conference on 19 May 1978 at the Royal Society of Arts entitled 'Does Britain need linguists?', attended by Labour MP Les Huckfield.

In a BOTB report, 'Foreign Languages for Overseas Trade', published on Wednesday 23 May 1979, with a foreword by the Duke of Kent, it found that secondary school language abilities were not appropriate for the world of work. In his foreword, the Duke made several accusations, claiming that British companies had not tried with other languages, due to relying on Commonwealth connections, and that it was expensive to give language training to managers. The Duke claimed that secondary schools were obsessed far too much with syntax and grammar, and that secondary schools should have acquired the spoken diction beforehand. The BOTB report was later discussed at a conference for headteachers, hosted by the University of Surrey's Department of Linguistic and International Studies, on 8 December 1979.

In December 1979 the University Grants Committee published its 'Report on Russian and Russian Studies in British Universities', which proposed to end the teaching of Russian in 19 to 20 universities; this was to centralise teaching in 20 main university departments. This move was opposed by the British Association for Slavonic & East European Studies

1980s

In 1983, the most French A-levels were taken: 27,103. The number fell but increased again by the early 1990s.

Universities were beginning to offer European business courses, to allow a year out in Europe, often at polytechnics, such as Middlesex Polytechnic. The University of Kent was a leading university with such courses, and cooperation with European universities. It largely coordinated all of the UK's part in the Erasmus Programme.

Many more secondary schools were offering languages up to 14, but not many comprehensive schools had obligatory language teaching after that. Most grammar schools would require a language to be followed up to 16. Prior to the 1970s, languages were largely only taught in grammar schools after the age of 14, and to take two languages up to 16. Most people believed that comprehensive schools could not achieve this, given the large range of abilities; only a few people, at most, believed it could be taught up to 16 in comprehensive schools. Some chief education officers believed that language teaching should be compulsory up to 16, for the able children only.

In 1987, the report Curriculum Matters 8 - Modern foreign languages to 16 was published. The report found that 40% of people at secondary schools took a foreign language to 16. The report was quite general, and rarely mentioned individual foreign languages. The report did not greatly mention the glaring lack of language teachers.

As part of the National Curriculum, a Modern Languages working group was established in 1989.

The National Curriculum MFL Working Group (MFLWG) was chaired by Sir Martin Harris. The committee, possibly hardheadedly, believed that most children could study modern languages up to the age of 16, despite many other linguists, previously, not coming to that same radical, or optimistic, conclusion.

The Council of Europe, from 1982 to 1987, had been looking at language teaching across Europe, which influenced the findings of the committee of Sir Martin Harris. A national educational conference, to discuss any findings, was held in 1989.

As a result, all children at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 were required to study a modern foreign language. However, concerns were expressed as to whether the time devoted to learning modern languages was sufficient for acquisition to take place and the extent to which French had become the dominant language.

Some areas of Scotland taught French in primary schools from 1989.

1990s

On 16 May 1990, the BBC launched a £3m series of educational programmes to prepare for the Single Market in 1992, such as a series of ten programmes entitled You and 92.

In 1990 Betty Lockwood, Baroness Lockwood chaired a committee to look at language education in the UK: European Schools and Language Learning in UK Schools. It found that the UK was short of 1,750 teachers, and that the numbers of French A-levels had dropped 10% in eight years to 18,000.

The LINGUA programme was set up by the EC from 1990 to 1994, which changed to become the Socrates programme in 1994.

The 1990 House of Lords report 'European Schools and Language Learning in UK Schools' found that around 18,000 took French A-level, which had dropped by 10% in eight years.

The GCSE A* grade was introduced in 1994.

The 'Nuffield Languages Inquiry' was set up in 1998 by Sir John Boyd (diplomat), with Alwena Lamping.

2000s

Curriculum 2000 was introduced by the Labour government in 2000 to allow an A-level course to be broken into two, in modules. It allowed A-levels to be less strenuous to attempt, and that more people could possibly pass each course. But, each exam required half the effort of the previous A-level system. An A-level became two AS-level courses. AS levels had been introduced, only, to give an alternative to the harder A-level course, which was not for everyone. But the AS-level had not been introduced to be a kind of replacement for the tough A-level exam. If teenagers took less-difficult exams at 18, the exam grades would inflate as well. The system was dropped from 2015 to 2018. The difficulty was that everyone was getting glowing exam grades, and so prestigious universities could not sufficiently separate out enough candidates; it was mere grade inflation.

The authoritative report Language Trends has been published annually since 2002 by the British Council.

In September 2000, modular AS levels were introduced, under Curriculum 2000. These were to be taken in year 12, which counted 50% towards the final A-level result: it spread the risk of the exam result over two years, but any number of resit exams were possible.

The European Year of Languages began in January 2001, and the Labour government had meetings with main European ambassadors about low participation in language education across the UK: Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz, Santiago de Mora-Figueroa y Williams and Daniel Bernard.

Lid King, the former director of the CILT from 1992, after John Trim and Alan Moy, became the new National Director for Languages in 2003, until 2012. He implemented the 2002 National Language Strategy.

In 2004 the Labour government dropped the requirement of the 1988 National Curriculum to take a language GCSE at 16. The Labour Party had recognised, after the age of 14, the adversity of many comprehensive schools trying to teach foreign languages; the subject could be too difficult for those who would not enter the sixth form. Language GCSEs were difficult to pass; dropping the requirement would also enable less-difficult GCSEs to be taken instead, giving an artificial boost to GCSE league tables. The NUT did not support the policy of dropping the requirement.

From 1996 French A-level entries had halved, to 14,650 in 2006, and there were 6,204 German A-level entries. By 2007, 51% at 16 took a language GCSE: in 2000 it was 80%.

2010s

Foreign language teaching in primary schools was to be compulsory by September 2011. In 2001, 21% of primary offered foreign languages: by 2010 this was 92%.

Since 2014 the National Curriculum has required that pupils in Key Stage 2 must study an ancient or modern foreign language. Pupils in Key Stage 3 must study a modern foreign language.

From September 2016, in England, AS levels no longer counted towards the A-level; many took AS level language courses up to year 12 only; the new A-levels are called linear A-levels.

By 2017, there were 9,672 entries for French A-level, and 3,842 for German. But the regulator Ofqual found that one in five entrants for German A-level were native speakers, acquiring half of all A* grades, and a quarter of all A grades; possibly abusing or gaming the system.

In 2017, a survey by the CBI found that employers most need people with skills and fluency in French, German and Spanish.

In 2018, new modern language GCSEs were introduced in England and Wales. In January 2019, the National Centre for Excellence for Language was established at the University of York, to coordinate modern language education in England, with nine school hubs across England; of the nine schools, two are grammar schools and two are faith schools.

Between 2004 and 2024, the overall number of GCSEs sat in a language dropped by a third. From 2010 to 2018, French GCSE entries declined by 29% and German GCSE entries dropped by 37%. But Spanish GCSE entries from 2010 to 2018 rose considerably.

From 2011 to 2018, French A-level entries have dropped from around 12,000 to just under 8,000. According to Joint Council for Qualifications, language GCSE entries have halved since 2005. There was a slight increase in French GCSE entries in 2018 and 2019; entries for Spanish are on course to overtake entries for French by 2030.

2020s

Ancient languages are being reintroduced into more English secondary schools, such as Latin. A £4m Department for Education scheme will initially be rolled out across 40 schools as part of a four-year pilot programme for 11- to 16-year-olds starting in September 2022. As well as language teaching, the Latin Excellence Programme will also include visits to Roman heritage sites to provide pupils with a greater understanding of classics and the ancient world. The initiative aims to boost GCSE Latin entries and will be modelled on the success of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, launched in 2016 in response to the growing importance of Mandarin as a global language. The programme now involves 75 schools across the country with more than 6,000 pupils learning Mandarin towards fluency.

With the passage of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015, the Scottish Qualifications Authority published a Group Award specification for BSL qualifications in 2021. With the passage of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the UK government published subject subject content for a BSL GCSE in 2024.

In 2022, Education Wales announced that BSL had become part of the Curriculum for Wales. In 2024, Qualifications Wales announced that the BSL qualification had been delayed from 2026 to 2027.

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