Language Trends Survey (CILT)
3 February 2025 (British Council)
The first Language Trends report for Scotland launched on Monday 3 February, and provides a comprehensive overview of modern language teaching and learning across Scottish schools.
The research, conducted by Queen's University Belfast for the British Council, offers an independent overview of modern language provision across primary and secondary schools, both local-authority and independent. It examines current teaching approaches, qualification patterns and international engagement.
The report highlights the decline in Language learning in Scotland at senior levels over the last decade, reflecting the trend across the rest of the UK.
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3 February 2025 (TES)
Nearly two-thirds of Scottish secondary schools now teach foreign languages in classes made up of students with differing levels of ability in order to make language learning “viable”, a report finds.
The British Council Scotland report shows that 64 per cent of secondary schools that participated in a recent survey reported “multi-level” classes being offered to students in S4 as a way of building up numbers. Many schools suggested that language classes would not run otherwise.
At S5, meanwhile, some 49 per cent of schools said that multi-level classes were taught.
The report - published today, at the start of Languages Week Scotland 2025 - states that the teaching of students with different levels of ability is “a key challenge facing language teachers in Scotland”.
One teacher in the survey says that staff are prepared to teach multi-level classes to give students the chance to study languages, but that this can be “very challenging”.
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Languages in the press
17 September 2024 (British Council)
Language Trends Scotland is an in-depth survey for all primary and secondary schools across the country. The research will provide an independent overview of the teaching of modern languages in Scotland.
The Language Trends series show general shifts in data and seek to provide a springboard for teachers, school leaders, academics, inspectors, policymakers, school pupils, and the public to consider aspects of language learning more deeply.
How to Participate:
We've designed the survey in collaboration with an expert panel in Scotland - the estimated time to complete is 15 minutes.
Ready to make your voice heard? Visit the British Council Language Trends Scotland webpage for more information and to complete the appropriate survey for your sector.
For any further information, please contact Jane Halstead - Jane.Halstead@britishcouncil.org
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British Council Scotland has launched the first-ever Language Trends Scotland survey
27 August 2024 (British Council)
Language Trends Scotland is an in-depth survey for all primary and secondary schools across the country. The research will provide an independent overview of the teaching of modern languages in Scotland.
The Language Trends series show general shifts in data and seek to provide a springboard for teachers, school leaders, academics, inspectors, policymakers, school pupils, and the public to consider aspects of language learning more deeply.
How to Participate:
We've designed the survey in collaboration with an expert panel in Scotland - the estimated time to complete is 15 minutes.
Ready to make your voice heard? Click the relevant link below to start the survey for your school:
Language Trends Scotland joins a suite of language trends research conducted across the UK and by taking the survey, you'll contribute to a wealth of data that spans over two decades, offering unique insights into the evolution of language education across the UK.
Visit the British Council's Language Trends Research webpage to find out more.
You can also sign up to British Council Scotland's Education newsletter.
18 April 2016 (British Council / Education Development Trust)
Teachers have expressed 'deep concerns' about the current state of language learning in schools in England, according to a new report from the British Council and Education Development Trust.
The Language Trends Survey 2016 - now in its fourteenth year - identifies numerous challenges currently facing language teaching in England and highlights that teachers and school leaders see the exam system as one of the principal barriers preventing its successful development.
[...]The Language Trends Survey 2015/16 is the 14th in a series of annual research exercises, charting the state of language teaching and learning in schools in England. The research is based on an online survey completed by teachers in 492 state secondary schools, 556 state primary schools and 132 independent secondary schools across the country. This year, case studies from both primary and secondary schools have been included to provide a more detailed picture of what is happening on the ground.
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20 March 2013 (The Guardian)
(Relates to England) Report finds A-level entries for French and German fell by half between 1996 and 2012, with language GCSEs also in decline. Anti-European sentiment is turning teenagers off modern foreign languages, experts have suggested.
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Related Links
Language learning in primary and secondary schools in England 2012 (CfBT, 20 March 2013) CfBT Education Trust today published the results of national surveys of primary and secondary schools, revealing the multiple challenges for languages within the new English National Curriculum.
Anti-European attitudes 'turning pupils off languages' (The Telegraph, 20 March 2013)
Europhobia, language trends and scratchy labels (Alcantara Communications, 21 March 2013)
Languages barrier may persist despite EBac boost (TES, 22 March 2013)