Crisis in A level language study in the United Kingdom

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the study of languages in the United Kingdom (UK). The Telegraph has revealed that the number of students in the UK who choose to study languages at A level is declining at a drastic rate. The biggest decline can be seen in the study of the French and German languages.

A survey identified different factors that affect language teaching. It was shown that the grading system is harsh and unpredictable and this may be one of the problems; it is difficult for students to get high grades in languages and therefore other subjects will be chosen instead.

It has also been mentioned that a there is a lack of cohesion between primary and secondary schools. It has been revealed that “only 27 per cent of state secondary schools in England are able to ensure that pupils coming into Year 7 are able to continue with the same language they learned at primary school”.

It is essential to learn foreign languages in order to succeed in today’s globalised society. Knowing more languages can place a student in a better position in the job search or guarantee a job position. Tony McAleavy has shared some interesting thoughts about the importance of language learning.

Tony McAleavy says
First, it is important to change the situation so that languages become more popular again among students. Another challenge is to ensure the students become more confident in languages, as one of the problems faced was that students do not choose languages because it is easier to get a good grade in other subjects.

It is LangCorr’s aim to help students to become more proficient and more confident in foreign languages. Our marking and feedback system is currently available for English and German teachers. But new languages such as French, Spanish and Italian are coming soon!

Based on the following articles that you can read here, here, and here.

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