The demand for foreign language skills to be prioritised in the UK education system - at the governmental and business level - is something that we have highlighted over the last few months. This is emphasised by recent figures suggesting that the number of Welsh pupils taking French and German at GCSE has halved since 2002. Whilst some of this will be explained by the diversification of language learning, this offset will be nowhere near enough to prop up these plummeting numbers. Efforts have been made by the government in other parts of the UK to boost learning by introducing foreign languages to students at an earlier stage. However, this has not occurred in Wales.
With foreign languages not on the curriculum, Welsh schools have the joint shortest period of compulsory foreign language learning in Europe. This is something that the Welsh government is looking to address, with the Education Minister Huw Lews commenting "This problem is not unique to Wales, but it is one I am determined to tackle. "I want to ensure that more and more of our young people actively choose to study a modern foreign language as part of their school education, and develop the skills they need to thrive in a modern global economy."
There are a number of different factors that put pressure on language learning in the education system. These include declining budgets and a results driven mindset that often discourages language learning. This is due to the difficulty of languages, and the focus on other subjects where results are easier to achieve. This decline in language learning continues to concern the British Council and business leaders who see a continuing increase in the demand for language skills. A lack of national language skills leads firms to look outside the UK for talent, which limits growth opportunities for UK based firms. Changes to the education system are positive, but will take years to filter through. Therefore, it is important to consider the advantages of independent language learning if the infrastructure is not in place in the education system.