Our vision
A society in which everyone recognises the value of
languages and intercultural relationships and is able to use more
than one language.
Our objective
Our objective is to provide leadership in
developing quality and excellence in the field of languages and
intercultural skills by:
- Gaining a strong commitment of all stakeholders in society,
business, education and politics to the vital role of languages in
the economic and cultural wellbeing of the UK
- Influencing decision makers to acknowledge the key role
languages play in holding communities together and enabling them to
communicate with one another, across perceived cultural and
linguistic boundaries
- Initiating and delivering activity, recognised to be of the
highest quality, which contributes significantly to a year on year
increase in the number of people in the UK learning languages
- Providing language professionals with the means to maintain,
refresh and develop their skills to inspire people in their
language learning and help bridge gaps in communication
across cultures
Outcomes we work to
achieve
We work to achieve the following outcomes:
- More language learners at all ages and levels of proficiency
and from all social backgrounds
- More employers recruiting staff with ability in languages as a
key business skill
- Multilingualism widely recognized as vital to international
understanding and social cohesion
- Government policy across all departments demonstrates a
commitment to languages
- Increased recognition of the value of languages in society as
reflected in the media.
We will measure progress annually, using a range of qualitative
and quantitative evidence. Our starting point in September 2009 is
as follows:
- 92% of primary schools teaching a language
- Languages are compulsory in Key Stage 3, but only 44% of pupils
continue with a language to GCSE
- A level language entries account for 4% of all A2 entries
- 3% of university students take languages degrees
- Numbers studying French and German at university are in
decline, and there are very small numbers of graduates in
non-Western European languages
- Only 30% of the adult population in the UK say they can
understand a conversation in another language.