The University of Exeter will coordinate the South West region’s network of language studies. This initiative is a testament to the university’s commitment to cultivating a robust arts and culture through quality modern language instruction. This new initiative comes as a response to a troubling trend. In the last 20 years, the number of A-level students going into modern languages has dropped by nearly a fifth, with French hit hardest.
The University of Exeter sits in the heart of Exeter’s expansive green and leafy campus at Streatham. Through its Languages For All programme, it is rising to the challenge of language studies becoming more accessible for students across the region. This programme started as a small pilot in the South East. Now, it’ll scale up to more than 20 schools across Devon and Cornwall!
The university is kicking off this new venture with a fantastic taster day! We’d like all Year 11 (GCSE) students and their teachers to participate in the fun! We’re anticipating over 250 participants to join this inaugural event. That’s exactly its purpose – to actively engage students and show them the amazing things that studying languages can help them do.
Michael Slavinsky, managing director of Languages For All, highlighted the importance of making language education relevant and financially feasible for schools.
“It makes languages more relevant to students, reduces the cost challenges for schools, and draws upon the expertise of our university partners in showcasing the exciting opportunities that lie in wait once they leave school,” – Michael Slavinsky
Slavinsky noted the current inequalities in language education, stating, “Currently, our homegrown linguists are being disproportionately cultivated from selective schools and we’re missing out on the diversity of talent in our state schools. We believe every child in the UK should have the opportunity to study languages to a high level.”
Professor Liz Jones, the deputy vice-chancellor for education and student experience at the university, expressed her enthusiasm for leading this initiative in the South West.
“We are thrilled to be leading Languages For All here in the south west,” – Professor Liz Jones
The University of Exeter’s initiatives are a positive development and a small but crucial step at turning the tide of the longterm decline in interest in modern languages. By working closely with local schools and building pipelines into their industry for students, they hope to create a new future filled with linguists. The campaign reflects a wider commitment to the idea that every child in the UK should be given the opportunity to study a high quality language.
