By Lucia McQuillan-Puccetti
There has been a notable decrease in students studying languages in further education, alongside reduced investment in modern foreign language teaching across the UK. This is reflected in the number of students taking French A-level, which has dropped drastically from almost 30,000 to fewer than 10,000 over the last 30 years, according to The Guardian.
Interest in language learning at university has also been declining each year since 2020. Concerned about this trend, Duolingo sponsored a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) on the current “language crisis”. Michael Lynas, the UK country director for the Duolingo language app, argued “there’s good cultural reasons to learn languages – the UK is part of a global and interconnected world and there’s a need to reach out to other people in ways that translation tools can’t manage”.
Over the last five years almost 50 centres of French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese studies have closed or reduced in size, including programmes at Leicester and Nottingham University due to falling revenues. Though the universities state they will continue supporting current language students, it is unlikely that students will be accepted in modern language degree programmes this academic year.
Nottingham University will become the only Russell Group university not offering modern foreign language degrees, harming its reputation as one of the UK’s most well-regarded language centres. The rise of Artificial Intelligence in translation appears to be a major concern among students, leading many to question the need and demand for studying languages.
Professor Lopa Leach, the Nottingham University and College Union branch president, believes the lack of student demand for modern language degrees is a result of a “societal shift” and the “downward trend in recruitment reflecting changing demographics and educational and career preferences”.
Has Nottingham University started a trend — and more worryingly, will other universities follow suit?