 |
| Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian |
Anne Marie Graham is head of the outward student mobility programme at the UK Higher Education International Unit - follow it on Twitter @internationalut
Unless the government develops a coherent languages strategy, student mobility is threatened, says Anne Marie Graham.
The study of modern
languages in schools has been declining for more than a decade - so
what's the solution?
Another year, another fall (5%) in the number of language A-levels taken. The UK curriculum's first choice foreign languages, French and German, have been declining in popularity for more than a decade.
And although numbers studying other languages, including Spanish and Arabic, have increased, they're not enough to buck the overall downward trend.
The new league table measure for 'traditional' subjects, the English Baccalaureate, led to a dramatic increase this year in students taking a language at GCSE, but the figure still only stands at 44% of GCSE students.
How many of these are studying French or German because they want to, or because they've been encouraged to do so to improve their school league table position? And realistically, how many will go on to study languages at A-level?
There will always be students, like me, who love languages enough to study them at A-level. Some won't be able to.
They may be in the position I was in aged 16, unable to do my first choice of French, Spanish and English literature A-levels, as English appeared in only two option blocks - the one containing French and the one containing Spanish.
But that isn't as bad as being told they can't take their favourite subject because they are unlikely to achieve an A* grade.
Ofqual is now investigating concerns that language A-levels are marked harder than other subjects, much to the relief of language teachers who have been pointing this out for years.
The drive towards studying a subject where you will achieve the highest possible grade is a challenge for languages, where subjectivity will always be an issue.
In the short term, fewer A-level students means fewer university students with a language skill. This won't just affect language undergraduate courses, although they are closing at an alarming rate.
Students with a language A-level go on to study other subjects too. The skills they develop, including research and analytical writing, prepare them for a range of academic disciplines.
Most importantly, that linguistic competence can give them the confidence to access international opportunities during their degree.
UK higher education is scratching its collective head as to how it can get more students to access placements abroad. It can't only be down to cost - we lag well behind even in Europe, where Erasmus funding is widely available for placements.
In 2010/11, the UK sent 12,833 students on an Erasmus study or work placement, whereas Spain sent 36,183, France 31,747 and Germany 30,274. Of those 12,833, nearly half were from language programmes.
Beyond the EU, we exchange relatively few students with countries such as Brazil, India, Turkey or China (all speakers of less widely taught languages).
The universities minister David Willetts is so concerned by the impact of outward mobility trends on the UK's influence overseas that he has committed political and financial support to an outward student mobility strategy for higher education, which aims to increase the proportion of students accessing study or work placements abroad.
The strategy encourages non-linguists to access international funded programmes like Erasmus or national scholarships, and works to increase participation in overseas placements from underrepresented groups, ensuring UK graduates still get an international experience.
The lack of linguists is also a genuine concern for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its diplomacy work.
As for the private sector, the latest CBI education and skills survey shows that 70% of businesses value foreign language skills in their employees, with hard-hit French and German the most useful, yet 55% of employers were dissatisfied with graduates' language skills and 47% with their international cultural awareness.
The priority must be to continue working with schools and colleges to inspire people to pursue these important subjects at university.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) project to boost demand for modern foreign language courses is a good example of work already underway, Meanwhile the Department for Education is gambling the nation's linguistic future on compulsory language learning at primary level.
While a commendable initiative, there's no guarantee that the seven year-olds learning French or Chinese from this September will go on to an A-level in the subject, or indeed that there will even be university language departments to teach their future teachers.
Unless the government gets together and implements a coherent strategy, the long-term future for language learning and its impact on student mobility remains uncertain.
While the fall in language A-levels may well have an impact on Erasmus numbers, student mobility might actually benefit from this grade craziness.
That disappointed student who couldn't take Spanish at A-level because he or she won't get an A* applies to universities that have exchange agreements with universities in Spain and Latin America.
No need to worry about rusty language skills, as the university can offer top-up language courses before departure. Or he or she might apply for a course that includes a year out in China, developing new skills and experiencing a completely different culture.
Maybe these frustrated linguists will go on to be our next generation of outwardly mobile students. But are they enough to ensure the future of study or work abroad?
No comments:
Post a Comment