Modern Languages degrees at risk in UK unis

Universities facing cuts have language programmes in the firing line

That is, at least, what Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said recently in an i paper exclusive.

“The single biggest problem facing our country is the catastrophic decline in language learning, both in schools and now at universities. Learning a modern language becomes a little bit like learning Latin and Greek. It becomes something that ancient universities tend to do and other universities withdraw from.”

88 out of 166 UK universities are running either redundancy or restructuring schemes, and languages degrees are seriously at risk within this climate because fewer students seem to want to take them. The number of students taking up language degrees has dropped massively in the last 20 years; in 2003, there were more than 160,000 language undergrads, whereas in 2019 there were just 75,000. This is in line with declining numbers at GCSE and A Level, too.

Last year, there was uproar at Aberdeen University, which revealed it was considering scrapping modern languages degrees - something that protests have staved off for now. This week, it has been Cardiff University that has floated cutting modern languages, along with subjects like nursing and music because it plans on shedding 400 academic stuff to save money. The Guardian reported that the university operated at a deficit of £31.2m in 2023-24 - that’s an eye-watering sum.

I can remember when I studied Spanish and Arabic at Durham a decade ago that I only had about five or six universities to pick from to begin with, as so few offered Arabic. The situation may have improved, although with the looming financial threats universities are facing, any progress will likely reverse.

I am keen to hear from teachers and university staff on what they think the outcome will be from this; will the UK be left with specialist language universities, rather than widespread adoption? What is going to happen to the academic research we produce as a country on language? And what will happen to all the academics who stand to lose their jobs?

One outcome I am worried about is a subsequent threat that may follow after language department closures; devaluation of multilingualism in general. Language diversity is increasing in the UK according to our last census, not because Brits are learning more languages, but because diverse, multicultural families are nurturing multiple languages at home. Without an education landscape that cares for multilingualism, lots of the children growing up in those families may struggle to maintain their heritage languages beyond a generation. Not having an Italian GCSE available at my school, for example, is one of the reasons I wasn’t able to elevate my language skills until I was an adult.

Multilingualism brings innumerable health and social benefits; something for me to unpack, perhaps, in another newsletter. Quite apart from languages generating more job opportunities for young people, linguistics as a discipline is also incredibly important in the development of AI; without such expertise, we put ourselves at a technological disadvantage.

Another area of concern as I write my book on linguicide are the UK’s long suffering indigenous languages; when the cuts were tabled in Aberdeen, Gaelic was one of the single degree programmes that was facing the axe.

If you are British and hear rumours or reports that your university is considering cutting jobs in languages, I’d like to hear about it; I’d also be interested in hearing about the gravity of cuts you have already had to face in the last five years.

Language fans keen to support Cardiff linguists may want to read this petition here.