The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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At its inaugural meeting of the new Parliament, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Languages looked at the 2017 Language Trends report. Parallel surveys of schools in England and Wales show that England's Ebacc attainment measure, which requires a modern foreign language (MFL), is having an effect: in England, GCSE entries have stabilised at approximately 49% of the cohort (up from a low of 40% in 2011), whereas in Wales entries have continued to drop year on year. However, the survey shows that MFL is under pressure from a reduction of Key Stage 3 to two years, as schools begin preparations for GCSE a year earlier in order to get through the extended curriculum and help pupils to attain higher grades. Poor primary-secondary transition means that the introduction of compulsory languages at Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) is not resulting in better attainment at secondary. And there are fewer trips abroad due to safeguarding concerns – certainly no bain linguistique in host families – and hardly any language assistants due to budget cuts. A gap is opening between London and the rest of the country. Students in London are 50% more likely to do a language GCSE (65% of the cohort) than those in the North East (43%). The report found evidence that more students dropped languages at KS3 (ages 11-14) in schools with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Those schools are also more likely to reduce KS3 to two years, with fewer opportunities to study a second foreign language, low take-up at GCSE and less time allocated to languages. There is no evidence that the Ebacc is having any positive effect on A-level entries. The loss of the AS level (which usually allowed four subjects to be studied for a year) has led to many students feeling they cannot take the risk of continuing with an MFL beyond GCSE. The situation in Wales shows what happens when a subject's take-up falls below a critical threshold. There is evidence that cohorts in individual Welsh secondary schools are too small for the subject to continue. Over a third of Welsh schools have less than 10% learning an MFL, while the 'MFL department' consists of a single teacher. The well-received Language Futures initiative will be key to reversing MFL's fortunes in Wales. The APPG elected two Vice Chairs, bringing the number of elected officers to six. Tonia Antoniazzi is the newly elected MP for Gower and a former Head of MFL. Lord Dykes is a crossbench peer who has been a member of several Lords EU Committees since 2004. 6 The Linguist Vol/56 No/5 2017 www.ciol.org.uk NEWS & EDITORIAL Philip Harding-Esch reveals worrying findings on the decline of modern foreign languages Inside parliament Philip Harding-Esch works on behalf of the British Council to support the APPG on Modern Languages. TL A Conservative MP has been criticised for linking the Brexit debate to EU spending on translation. The Irish MEP Sean Kelly accused Andrew Bridgen of using a "diversion tactic" after the MP for North West Leicestershire complained about extra funding of £1.5m for the EU's social history project 'My House of European History'. The DG Translation said the money was needed because of an unexpectedly high demand for translation into Irish, and added that the translation department accounts for less than 1% of the EU's annual budget (or £1.80 per citizen). MP accused of 'diversion tactic' More pupils gained top grades in A-level language exams in England and Wales this year, as the number of candidates achieving an A grade rose by 1.7% for French and 1.8% for German compared to the previous year. The exams regulator, Ofqual, had asked exam boards to change the threshold for the top grade after it found that non- native speakers were being penalised because the high scores achieved by native- speakers meant that the grade boundary was set too high. The proportion of students achieving an A in Spanish also increased. In June, Ofqual wrote to headteachers, explaining, "the proportion of native speakers taking these qualifications may have increased in recent years, as the overall entry has declined. Informed by this research, we believe there is a case for making a small upward adjustment to the predictions used to set grade A." Mark Herbert, Head of the British Council's Schools Programmes, commented on the results: "There's a welcome increase in top grades this year but disappointingly the overall number taking a language continues to fall." It is hoped, however, that by ending the tough grading system associated with languages, the exam boards will remove an important obstacle to take-up. Top marks for A-level students © SHUTTERSTOCK