The survey was carried out from September
to December 2009 by CILT, the National Centre for Languages with
support from the Association for Language
Learning and the Independent
Schools’ Modern Language Association.
It is based on responses to a questionnaire
sent to a representative sample of 2,000 secondary schools in
England (1,500 maintained schools and 500 independent schools).
The survey has been carried out annually since
2002 to track developments in language provision and take-up in
secondary schools. (Please use the left-hand menu to access earlier
Secondary surveys.)
Key findings:
- There is little sign yet of a recovery in take up for languages
in Key Stage 4: it is still too early for the many initiatives
taken to reverse the trend to have had an impact on the figures
nationally.
- The benchmark of 50%-90% of pupils expected to continue with a
language, set in 2006, is often being abandoned as unrealistic in a
context of ever-widening choices for students post 14. Performance
table pressures and narrowly defined whole school objectives emerge
as key factors which obstruct greater take up.
- Schools are involved in a wide range of national and local
initiatives to motivate students and improve take up, which are
seen as valuable and effective in improving attitudes towards
languages. However their effectiveness in raising participation is
limited by a) the ever-widening choice of subjects available; b)
pressure on schools and pupils to achieve higher grades; c)
narrowly focussed advice from parents, form tutors and others.
- Reductions in lesson time and in the length of Key Stage 3 are
both reported as having a negative effect on take up of languages
in Key Stage 4. Good teaching in Key Stage 3 seen as essential for
healthy uptake in Key Stage 4.
- There has been significant growth in the number of schools
offering alternative accreditation to GCSE – 47% up from 22% in
2006. This is in line with the recommendations of the Dearing
Languages Review that schools should offer a wider range of courses
and accreditation in languages to broaden the offer for
pupils.
- 40% of schools organise exchanges but many say that these are
becoming more difficult to arrange because of a range of factors
including the economic climate, parental and headteacher concerns
over safety, and uncertainty over new safeguarding and vetting
procedures.
- Training received by languages teachers is overwhelmingly for
‘operational’ reasons relating to new specifications or exams
rather than courses designed to deepen professional expertise and
improve the quality of teaching.
- The role of senior leadership within the school is crucial:
schools policies are the biggest determinant of increased take up
and can create the conditions for a ‘virtuous circle’ for
languages.
- Spanish and lesser-taught languages, particularly Mandarin,
continue to grow, though less steeply than before.
- Independent schools have a richer languages offer as well as
much higher levels of participation in language learning.
The findings are based on a 33% response rate from 668
schools.
This is an online survey.
Click here
(pdf, 463kb) to read the questions.
Regional
reports: