Languages open doors - whether it’s making new friends, traveling the world, or landing a dream job. But despite all the benefits, Modern Foreign Languages in the U.K. are struggling. Fewer students are choosing to study languages like German and French and schools and universities are facing tough decisions about whether to cut some of these languages and subjects entirely.
So, what can we do about it? In this post, I’ll explore some hands-on strategies for teachers, subject leaders and educational organisations to keep languages alive. Whether you're fighting to keep German on the curriculum or looking for ways to reignite interest in French and Spanish, I hope that some of these ideas will help you make a compelling case for MFL.
1. Why Are MFL Entry Numbers Dropping?
Before we dive into solutions, let’s take a quick look at why languages are losing ground:
Students see languages as too difficult, so they opt for subjects that seem easier.
Historically harsh grade boundaries, making it more difficult to get a high grade in MFL.
Schools are cutting funding and curriculum time for MFL.
Brexit has reduced the focus on European languages.
There aren’t enough opportunities to practise speaking with native speakers.
Limited exposure to language use in real-world settings.
Misconceptions about the necessity of language skills in future careers.
Understanding these challenges can help us craft solutions that actually make a difference.
2. How Subject Leaders Can Fight to Keep MFL Alive
As a subject leader, you’re on the frontline of defending MFL in your school. Here’s how you can keep languages relevant and make sure they don’t get cut.
Get Students to Advocate for Languages
Pupil voice matters! Run surveys or discussions where students share why they enjoy learning languages. Use their words as evidence for why MFL is valuable. You might want to guide your students through these and keep the number of questions low to get the best outcomes, especially if you are intending to use them as evidence for SLT.
Record student testimonials. Get students to film short videos talking about why they love learning a language - these can / should be shared with senior leaders, parents and even governors.
Showcase real-life applications. Connect students with native speakers, organise cultural events, or set up a pen-pal exchange so they see the real-world impact of their language skills. To set up pen pal connections, consider using organisations like the British Council,Global School Alliance or relevant Facebook groups.
Encourage past students to present at assemblies. Let them share their experiences with language learning and how it has benefited them.
Bring Parents on Board
Collect parent testimonials. Ask parents to share (via Parents voice) why they believe language learning is benefitting their child’s education and how they support it at home. Encourage them to discuss how learning a language has improved their child’s confidence, communication skills and how it will benefit their future opportunities. As with the 'Pupil Voice', keep the number of questions to 3-4 questions and use it as evidence for your case with SLT and governors.
Run MFL info evenings.Show parents and leaders why language learning is important for young people’s futures and how it can boost university applications and job prospects as well as school's ranking - EBacc scores, entry requirements for universities etc.
Encourage language learning at home. Provide parents with simple resources to practice languages with their children, even if they aren’t fluent themselves.
Raise the Profile of MFL in School
Organise language-themed events.Think European Day of Languages celebrations, food-tasting events, Community Days, or language challenges to get the whole school involved.
Run competitions and rewards schemes. Whether it’s a spelling bee, a creative writing challenge, or a quiz, a little friendly competition can boost motivation adn add to the 'Voice' for languages. Subscribe to the Association for Language Learning (ALL) newsletter to stay informed about upcoming events and competitions.
Make MFL visible. Create a display board with student work, language facts and travel opportunities to keep MFL in the spotlight.
Link MFL to cross-curricular projects. Show students that languages connect to history, geography, business and more. We collaborate with the History department on a joint trip to Berlin, integrating language learning with the study of the Cold War and other key historical events.
Host themed language weeks. Celebrate different languages and cultures throughout the year to maintain engagement.
3. How to Persuade Senior Leaders to Keep MFL
Your headteacher and senior leadership team (SLT) have tough decisions to make about budgets, resources and curriculum time. Including the above, here are some other ideas how you can convince them to prioritise MFL.
Show the Bigger Picture
Link languages to careers.Highlight how multilingual skills are essential in industries like business, law, medicine and tourism.
Talk about cognitive benefits. Learning a language boosts memory, problem-solving, and creativity - all key skills employers value.
Remind them of government priorities. Language learning is a key part of the National Curriculum and universities favor students with language qualifications.
Highlight international job opportunities. Show data from businesses that actively seek bilingual employees.
Share student success stories. Show how former students benefited from learning languages in their education and careers.
Flexible timetabling. Suggest alternative scheduling, such as lunchtime or after-school language clubs to maintain language learning of languages that might not have enough space on the timetable without affecting other subjects.
Show how MFL supports literacy and oracy skills. Make the case that language learning reinforces speaking, reading, writing and comprehension. Oracy is at the moment a big focus for Ofsted.
Collaborate with other schools.If your school is thinking of dropping a language, see if you can partner with another school to keep it going, especially when it comes to AS / A Level.
Make a Formal Case to Governors
Draft a letter outlining the risks and solutions. Include evidence from student surveys, parent testimonials and career impact reports.
Highlight student and parent support. Present the feedback you’ve collected (from Pupil and Parent Voice) to show that the wider school community values MFL.
Propose trial programs. If cutting a language is under discussion, suggest a pilot program to prove its viability before making permanent decisions. For example, propose a one-year 'Language Enrichment Program' where MFL is offered as an extracurricular club, an optional GCSE short course, or a collaboration with another local school to share teaching resources. Use student uptake, engagement levels and parent feedback to demonstrate the demand and impact of keeping the language on the curriculum.
4. How Teachers and Organisations Can Support MFL Growth
Get the Community Involved
Invite guest speakers. Professionals, university students and native speakers can inspire students by showing them how languages are used in real life. David Binnsfrom SANAKO UK delivers engaging assemblies for students and parents, highlighting the importance of languages, particularly their connection to STEM subjects and making a strong case for language learning. This can be especially impactful if your uptake is low and thus the language is in danger of being 'dropped' due to low numbers.
Partner with local businesses. See if companies that operate internationally can support language-learning initiatives. Professor René Koglbauer,once shared how he leveraged a local connection with a BMW Managing Director in the UK, who was very interested in German at his school, to boost uptake. She offered all students taking GCSE German the opportunity for an interview at BMW.
Use social media to spread the message. Share student success stories, interesting language facts and cultural content to keep MFL on people’s radar.
Host international movie nights. Introduce students to films and TV series in different languages to make learning engaging.
Look for External Support
Apply for funding and grants.Organisations like the British Council, UK German Connections and Global School Alliance (Turing Scheme) offer financial support for language programs.
Bring in language ambassadors.Work with university students, volunteers, exchange students or your own (older) students to give your younger students more exposure to the language or native speakers.
Organise international trips and exchanges. Even a short trip to a country where the language is spoken can have a huge impact on student motivation.
Encourage partnerships with local universities. Higher education institutions often have resources and language programs that schools can tap into.
MFL is at a crossroads in U.K. education, but with the right approach, I believe, we can turn things around. By making languages relevant to students, building strong support from parents and the wider school community and presenting a strong case to senior leaders, we can keep MFL thriving.
Every small action counts - whether it’s gathering student testimonials, organising a language event, or writing to governors. The future of MFL depends on us - passionate teachers, engaged students and a commitment to showing why learning languages matters.
What strategies have worked for you in promoting MFL? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments!