UK government ministers say they will address the decline in the number of students studying languages at school.
Until September 2004, studying a foreign language was compulsory up to the age of 16. The previous government dropped the rule, however, making it possible for students to stop learning languages at 14.
Exam results released in August reveal that a third fewer students are now taking GCSEs—the standard school-leaving qualification in the UK—in languages.
While some languages, such as Spanish, Mandarin and Polish, are on the rise, others are falling. At 170,000 the number of children studying French is almost half what it was six years ago.
Speaking to The Guardian (London), Wendy Piatt, of the Russell Group of elite universities, lamented the shift.
"The sharp decline in modern foreign languages, particularly French and German, is of grave concern," she said. "Despite welcome growing interest in less traditional languages … the current uptake of foreign languages is inadequate to meet the needs of our universities, economy and society."
According to surveys, French remains the language most desired by British employers, The Guardian reported. Yet French was not among the top 10 most popular GCSE subjects this year, for the first time.
Dr. John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the decline was losing UK schools good teachers.
Predicting further decline, he said that "without good staff, children are less likely to choose the subject," according to The Independent (London).
30 August 2010
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