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Introduction
I started my Master’s degree in Modern Languages (Spanish) at the University of Oxford in October 2024. During the introductory week, I was scheduled to attend a library induction with the other Spanish students. As I approached the Taylorian (the Modern European Languages library), I was preparing myself to give the classic introductory spiel to yet another crowd of new people. Just imagine my surprise when I arrived and there was only one other student there. In this moment, I thought to myself: what exactly is going on with language-learning in the UK, and why is it declining at such a rapid rate?
The Statistics
The number of students opting to study languages has declined over recent years. In 2004, the government removed the requirement to study a language at GCSE, leading to a sharp decline in the number of languages students across the nation. Since then, this number has continued to fall; UCAS admissions statistics show that, although the majority of students applying for languages at undergraduate level choose Iberian, French or Asian studies, the percentage of students applying for an Iberian language decreased by over 30% between 2019 and 2024. Therefore, even the most popular courses are suffering.
Language Teaching
At the earliest level of schooling, the National Curriculum sets out vague expectations for language teaching. As a result, teaching provisions and the resulting effectiveness vary depending on the schools and the teacher. Furthermore, there is a lack of continuity between different years; for example, students transitioning from primary school to secondary school may no longer have access to the language that they were learning at primary school. The failure to define clearcut guidelines and to ensure cohesion impacts language-learning from an early age, creating ripple effects that extend into higher education.
At university level, language courses at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as other universities, focus heavily upon the study of literature. While reading is certainly valuable to both cultural understanding and language acquisition, essays are written in English and seminars are typically conducted in English. As a result, many students become disillusioned, having expected more practical and active language practice.
Classism in Education
The field of Modern Languages is in a financially precarious state, and this overwhelmingly impacts lower-income areas. For example, employing language assistants is much more common within the independent sector. Furthermore, certain languages, such as German, are less frequently available in state schools. Therefore, students in areas where there is a lack of resources surrounding language education are at a significant disadvantage. This has a domino effect; as language study becomes less common in lower-income areas, fewer students from these areas choose language degrees at university. In turn, funding is being cut from the universities, and language study is increasingly becoming a privilege offered solely by elite universities, which many working-class students are unable to attend due to systemic inequality.
Harsh Grading
Surveys have also demonstrated that many gifted students opt out of studying a language at A-Level due to the harsh grading, fearing that it may prevent them from achieving the top grades necessary for university. This phenomenon can be linked to what John Worne describes as a nationwide focus on fluency over functionality. He argues that the academic and social fixation on perfection and native-level fluency in fact hinders progress by discouraging people from giving it a go. Instead, we ought to welcome the inevitable imperfection that comes hand-in-hand with language learning.
Financial Cuts
The decline in the status of Modern Languages degrees can also be situated in the context of a wider trend, whereby the humanities as a whole are being increasingly undervalued within society and academia. This is reflected by the recent funding cuts within the AHRC (the Arts and Humanities Research Council). Between 2026 and 2030, they will reduce the number of studentships offered from 425 to 300, drastically reducing the already scarce resources and squandering many people’s hopes to pursue education to PhD level or to seek a career in academia. Many organisations have outwardly expressed their opposition to these cuts, such as BAFTSS, which published an open letter and asked the council to acknowledge how this change will continue to widen the class divide.
Conclusion – Is There Hope?
Despite these hindrances, there are positive changes that continue to be made. For example, following its legal recognition as a language in 2022, BSL will be offered as part of the GCSE curriculum from September 2025. Moreover, while it could be argued that developments in Artificial Intelligence pose obstacles to language-learning, they also open up new routes for innovation and communication. Therefore, in the face of challenges, it is more important than ever that we continue to fight for languages, highlighting the personal enrichment, cultural understanding and economic growth that language studies encourage.
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