Government EventsThe Future of Modern Foreign Languages in Education

26 February 2019

The Employability of Modern Foreign Languages Graduates

Professor Stephen Forcer

University of Birmingham

HESA Leavers Survey 2016-2017: UK Domiciled Leavers Entering UK Employment in Professional Occupations by Subject Area

HESA Leavers Survey 2016-2017Destinations of Leavers (non-science)

HESA Leavers Survey 2016-2017: Median Salary of UK Domiciled F-T Leavers (first degree + entered F-T paid work in the UK)

Occupation of leavers entering employment in the UK by subject area of degree (HESA Leavers Survey 2016-2017)

Surely Demand = A Future?• ‘Nearly a quarter – 22 per cent – of companies whose employees

took part in the [Born Global] survey were said to have insufficient languages capacity to meet their needs. Among those without sufficient capacity, two thirds said that misunderstandings generated by a lack of language skills on the part of their employees create operational problems, including client dissatisfaction, supply chain difficulties and problems of communication with co-workers’; British Academy, Born Global, 2016 (pp. 4-5).

• A lack of language skills and Anglocentrism cost the UK economy around £48 billion a year (James Foreman-Peck for BIS, 2013).

• ‘The majority of the world’s population is multilingual. Two thirds of children globally are brought up in bilingual environments. It is sometimes assumed that ‘English is enough’, but in global terms only 6% of the population are native English speakers and 75% speak no English at all. Monitoring of internet traffic demonstrates a decline in the relative influence of English online, from 51% of traffic in 2000 to 26.8% in 2011’; British Academy, Multilingual Britain (2013), p. 1.

The ML Global Experience USP

71% of senior UK business figures with skills in more than one language said that their languages skills had given them a competitive edge in applying for jobs. Born Global (British Academy 2016, p. 4.)

ML addresses employers’ dissatisfaction with level of foreign language skills and international cultural awareness in graduates.CBI/Pearson Education & Skills Survey 2017

• Is the message about ML and employability landing in government and with prospective students? Cf. Michael Worton on ML more generally a decade ago: ‘There is a strong sense in which the importance and value of languages are not properly understood and recognised either by government or by potential students’. Michael Worton, Review of Modern Foreign Languages in England, HEFCE, 2009.

• ‘Over 2002-2003 to 2013-2014 there was a 57% drop in entrants to [UK] foreign language degrees.’ More recent data shows a continued significant contraction, including over the 2018-2019 admissions round.

• ‘Over 1998 to 2014-2015 there was a 40% drop in the number of universities offering specialist degrees in languages, from 93 universities to 56’; British Academy, Born Global, p. 7. Cf. recent and on-going threats to different UK ML Departments and degrees.

• Brexit is now being cited by some parents and pupils as a reason not to study European languages (British Council, Language Trends, 2018).

And Yet…

ML and Study Abroad: A Fading USP?

ML and Employability: What We Say I

Strong communication skills in English and one or more other languages

A deep understanding and appreciation of other cultures

Critical thinking skills, alongside the ability to research, analyse and interpret information

Independence and experience of living abroad

Leadership and teamwork

Handling complex information

The ability to form concise and articulate arguments

Managing your time and prioritising your workload

ML and Employability: What We Say II

ML and Employability: What We Don’t Show (Enough)?