Number of undergraduates on full-time modern foreign language courses at lowest point in a decade, new report concludes.
The number of students taking a language degree is at the lowest level in a decade. A report released today from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) found the number of students being accepted onto full-time modern foreign language (MFL) courses dropped by nearly a quarter (22%) between the academic years 2010-11 and 2012-13.
Ucas data in the report shows the fall in applications to MFL courses in 2013-14 were reflected in the acceptances, which are now at their lowest point in the last 10 years. Acceptances to non-European languages fell by 14% compared to the previous academic year (2012-13) and by 6% for European languages.
"A worrying fact is that the data has seen a fall in applications to foreign modern languages in 2013-14 cycle. Ucas data is for applications, not enrollment, but it indicates there may be a continuation of what we've seen last year," says Janet Ilieva, co-author of the report.
One of the key findings of the report is that the fall in language undergraduate degrees has shifted from an issue concentrated among part-time students, to a problem now among full-time students. Until 2012-13, the long term decline in entry to MFL courses was primarily affecting part-time programmes. Data for the most recent academic year shows a 22% decline in full-time undergraduate study.
John Worne, director of strategy at the British Council, says: "While it's good to see more young British people going into higher education, it's disappointing that language courses aren't benefiting from this upward trend, with yet another dramatic decline in students taking languages."
The report attributes the fall in MFL undergraduate courses almost entirely to a decline in numbers of UK students, rather than those from other EU countries which have remained stable.
While the number of students studying languages is falling at home, an increasing number of students are taking up languages abroad. Another key finding of the report is that languages were the most popular subject in 2012-13 for UK students studying in France and Germany, and the second most popular choice after economics for those going to the Netherlands.
"The numbers [of UK students studying abroad] are still very small but the growth is set to continue," says Ilieva. "In several years time, it will have an implication on the numbers of students opting to study languages in England."
The number of students taking up languages at postgraduate level also fell, according to the data from the report. The number of entrants to taught postgraduate languages degrees is only 1,000 entrants across both full and part-time. Between 2010-11 and 2012-13, full-time entrants fell by more than a quarter and by more than half in part-time.
