Decline in language degree courses
The number of West Midlands Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) providing undergraduate French, German or Italian language courses has fallen dramatically since 1998.
According to the Losing our Tongues report, the numbers of HEIs providing undergraduate German or Italian courses in the region have both decreased by 50% over the last 9 years.
Only London has seen a bigger fall in provision for German, with a massive 58% reduction in the number of HEIs offering degree level study. The number of institutions across the UK providing Italian degree courses fell by an average of 9%.
The West Midlands has been the worst affected region in terms of provision for French undergraduate study, with the number of institutions in the region offering degree courses falling by 37.5%. This compares with a national average drop of 15%.
In an increasingly globalised society and economy, it is vital that the West Midlands produces graduates able to communicate in key foreign languages. And, with studying away from home becoming financially impossible for many school leavers, we can only wonder how our region’s youngsters will find a suitable place to continue with their language learning.
The report also warns that provision may be cut further still as the knock-on effects of the Government’s 2004 decision to make GCSE languages non-compulsory continue to be felt.
Losing our Tongues was published in December 2006 by the University and College Union (UCU). Figures were calculated using the UCAS Handbook and taking into consideration HEIs offering single and joint honours or combined courses. In the case of all three languages, the fall has been sharper in the number of institutions providing joint honours or combined courses, compared with those offering single honours degrees.
Please click here to download the full report (PDF, 165KB).
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