Applications to study languages plummet ahead of Brexit

THE NUMBER of applications for foreign language degrees has plummeted in the last decade, figures show.

While girls are still around twice as likely to want to study languages at university as boys, there has been a significant dropoff for both sexes, an analysis of Ucas data has revealed.

Experts said the decreases were concerning and the UK needs to “nurture a new generation of fluent speakers”.

The analysis shows there were 17,505 applications to study European languages, literature and related courses last year, down 30 per cent from 24,895 in 2007.

And applications for non-European languages, literature and related degrees have dropped by 38 per cent to 5,515 last year – compared with 8,945 a decade ago.

The analysis looked at all applications made through Ucas’s main application scheme between 2007 and 2017. The figures come just days before teenagers learn their A-level results.

A gender breakdown shows applications from boys to study European language courses have dropped 27 per cent, while for nonEuropean languages the numbers are down 50 per cent. Among girls, applications have fallen by 31 per cent for both European and nonEuropean languages.

Mark Herbert, director of schools and skills at the British Council, said youngsters were competing against people who not only had excellent English – but often several other languages as well.

He said: “At a time when the UK is looking to forge new relationships around the world, it’s concerning that the number of young people applying for language degrees is actually declining.

“We need to nurture a new generation of fluent speakers, particularly in important languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, French and German, which our analysis shows will be crucial for the UK’s success post-Brexit.”