In January 2022, the Department for Education announced a review into subject content requirements for Modern Foreign Languages qualifications in French, German and Spanish, aiming to deliver top quality teaching and create a strong foreign language capacity across the United Kingdom.

Ofsted’s research into language learning in 2021 highlighted the downward trend in pupils studying a modern language at GCSE and A Level, particularly pronounced in French GCSE rates where overall candidate numbers in England fell by almost two thirds between 2002 and 2019.

Schools face many obstacles in implementing the government’s EBacc ambition for languages, including developing language learning in primary schools, ensuring opportunities for pupils of all abilities, and progressing language studies after they become optional. These barriers to participation in MFL include structural barriers such as curriculum planning, staffing, SATS pressures, as well as cultural issues such as students feeling demotivated to study languages, or not seeing their relevance.

The Government’s £4 million Latin Excellence programme seeks to give more more students the opportunity to learn the ancient language as part of the Levelling Up agenda, based on the success of the £16.4 million Mandarin Excellence Programme, and these new strategies have the potential to be duplicated across other languages.

Given the difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic and digital teaching, new approaches need to improve language uptake and maintain high standards across modern foreign languages.

This event will explore the barriers to participation in MFL, effective methods to improve engagement, and best-practice case studies for student engagement and success.

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