Employers blamed for drop in language GCSEs

24/08/2007

The UK’s employers have been blamed for the continuing drop in popularity of learning foreign languages at school.

Yesterday’s GCSE results showed a substantial fall in students taking a foreign language at GCSE level. The number of students taking German dropped by over 10% and French also suffered a significant fall in numbers.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has said that employers are failing to stress the importance of languages as a marketable job skill, and must take some of the blame for yesterday’s results.

Labour made the controversial decision to make a modern language GCSE optional in 2004, and numbers of students taking French or German GSCE have been plummeting ever since.

ASCL general secretary Dr John Dunford said: “With modern languages ceasing to be compulsory, the numbers were inevitably going to fall again this year.

“Young people are doing themselves no favours in the job market by cutting themselves off from foreign languages at this age.”

He added that employers must take responsibility for not promoting language skills as important for the economy.

“Until they send out a much stronger message to young people that languages are important in the job market, GCSE numbers will continue to be low and British industry will continue to struggle to compete in a global market,” he said.

However, businesses have shown support to learning languages at school, with the British Chambers of Commerce expressing its disappointment after a report released in March failed to support the reinstatement of languages at GSCE.
“If our businesses are to compete in the face of continuing globalisation, then we need to increase the language skills of the UK workforce in line with our European rivals,” the organisation said.