Press Release

61 languages taught in complementary schools

22 September 2005

Ethnic minority communities make provision for teaching 61 different languages across the UK, a new study has found. And mainstream primary and secondary schools offer at least 35 languages, either as part of the curriculum or as after-hours provision.

While nearly 40,000 students gained a qualification in a community language this year (the largest numbers in Urdu, Chinese, Irish and Arabic) few providers considered these skills as valuable for students’ future careers.

The study found that the linguistic map of Britain is changing, with multilingualism spreading beyond typically multi-ethnic areas: over 100 languages are now spoken in Scotland and nearly as many in Wales. In Wrexham, a local authority with very few community language speakers until recently, at least 25 languages are now in use, including Portuguese, Polish, Tagalog and Shona.

There is vast potential for harnessing these diverse linguistic talents of pupils, according to Isabella Moore, Director of CILT, the National Centre for Languages, who said:

'This summer business leaders drew attention to our country's need for capability in a wider range of languages. Yet 9% of our secondary school children and over 10% of primary children already speak another language at home, and many more have one in their family background. By encouraging students to develop their existing knowledge we will be building up an important skills base, as well as raising educational achievement'

Joanna McPake of Stirling University who led the research study said:

'There is a huge body of research testifying to the benefits bilingualism for educational development. Yet our survey has shown that schools do not always appreciate the value of maintaining and developing language skills other than English. In addition, both mainstream and complementary schools underestimate the practical value of other languages for students' future careers.'

The report, which is published to co-incide with the European Day of Languages on Monday,  seeks to stimulate further debate about the place of community languages and ways in which providers could work together to encourage learners to see their bilingualism as an asset.