Spanish is bucking the trend!
Posted: Mon, Jul 2, 2018 1:26 PM
A recent report by the British Council has suggested that Spanish is due to overtake French and become the most widely taught language at schools in England.
The findings came in the British Council’s Language Trends Survey and said “Uptake of French and German at GCSE and A-Level has dramatically fallen over the last two decades while there has been a significant rise for Spanish.”
Vicky Gough, a school advisor at the British Council, said: “There is a perception of Spanish being easier to pick up than other languages, which may account in part for its popularity, along with the fact that Spain is the most popular holiday destination for Brits, so young people can imagine having the chance to use it.”
Angela Sterling, Founder of children's language programme, Lingotot, says: "There has been a lot in the news recently about dwindling interest in languages at school level so I'm delighted to see that Spanish is bucking the trend. We have seen a similar shift in our own classes with families, nurseries and schools predominantly choosing Spanish. It's understandable given the current trend of including Spanish lyrics in pop music and of course, Spain remains a popular holiday destination.
She continues: "I hope that schools can continue to engage children's interests in language learning but I think it's important that we look at introducing languages at a younger age. Younger children have a distinct advantage in language learning as their developing minds are primed to soak up new language. We firmly believe that to counteract the dwindling interest in languages at school, children should be introduced to them at Primary level with greater emphasis being placed on the importance of languages in Key Stage 1 and 2."
Andrew Hall, Chief Executive of the AQA exam board has also predicted that Spanish will become the default language to teach in British schools, saying: “I’ve always been talking about savvy students and that’s just what they are. They are thinking ‘this language will really help me.’ It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world.”
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