Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to attend schools where learning a foreign language to GCSE level is considered optional rather than a core subject, research suggests.

The Cambridge University study of 615 state schools in England found that poorer students are disproportionately concentrated in schools that deprioritise language learning.

Language learning in state-maintained schools in England is a compulsory part of the curriculum between the ages of seven and 14.

But in 2004, language learning ceased to be compulsory at Key Stage 4, aged 14 to 16.

It remains a statutory entitlement area, meaning students should still have the option to study a language as one of their GCSE subjects.

Decisions around whether to position languages as “core” or “optional” beyond the age of 14 are devolved to individual schools

The Cambridge study indicated a 7% gap between the proportion of disadvantaged students at schools where languages were optional at GCSE (29% of all students), and at schools where they were considered “core” (21.3% of all students).

It then found a more than 50% difference in the average proportion of students at these schools who studied a language to GCSE, with 82.6% at schools where languages were core, versus 31.9% where they are optional.

The findings suggest that disadvantaged students have been most affected by the national decline in language study since 2004, when GCSE languages ceased to be compulsory.

In the academic year 2023-4, just 45.7% of eligible students in England took a language GCSE.

By contrast, 97.9% of upper secondary students in the EU study at least one foreign language, according to the study.

The study also indicates that if schools offer a wider choice of languages, their GCSE language scores tend to be better overall.

Dr Karen Forbes, associate professor in second language education at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, said it raised concerns about widening inequalities in language learning.

“It seems obvious, but surely all children should have the same opportunity to learn a language,” she said.

“In practice, for less wealthy students these subjects are often de-emphasised.

“If this is not addressed, the national decline in language learning will continue and probably accelerate.”

She said that how schools position languages in the curriculum sends important signals to students.

“When schools frame languages as useful and important, students pick up on this” she said.

“Offering a wider range of languages also gives them a choice, and they are more likely to be motivated if they are studying a language they have actively chosen.”

She said she “would love to see languages reestablished as core subjects at GCSE across all schools”.

“This would signal its importance and create more equitable opportunities for students,” Dr Forbes said.

The research is published in The Language Learning Journal.