Reenergising language learning: one year on

There is evidence that young people value multilingualism and other cultures. However, at schools which don’t make the continuation of a modern foreign language compulsory at Key Stage 4, taking a language GCSE has been a persistently unpopular choice for many students since the mid-2000s.

The benefits of language learning are wide and varied, including the development of intercultural communication skills, cultural understanding, critical thinking, resilience, and creativity, all of which aids social cohesion and fuels business and the economy.

Recognising wide-ranging benefits of language-learning, the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) was created to tackle this challenge and motivate students to continue to study languages at an advanced level. 

The NCLE is a government-funded consortium led by IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, working together with their partners Goethe-Institut and the British Council. 

NCLE’s overarching ethos is centred around inspiring societal change by fostering greater national interest for language learning and improving equity by enabling student’s access to high quality language education. 

On International Mother Language Day 2024, IOE Director and Dean Professor Li Wei celebrated NCLE’s specific strand of ‘home, heritage and community languages’ (HHCLs). This strand focuses on improving pupils’ access to and ability to gain recognised qualifications in these languages, working with complementary community language schools as well as building awareness, visibility and capacity within the school system.

Key milestones in the NCLE’s first year: 

• In Spring 2023 the DfE announced IOE had been selected to lead the Language Hubs programme, backed by £14.9 million over the next three years. 
• In September 2023 NCLE announced its first 15 Language Hubs. 
• In October 2023 the inaugural Language Hubs Conference brought Language Hub specialist teachers, Department of Education (DfE) representatives and Goethe-Institut’s German Expert Mentors together in Birmingham. 
• In November 2023 the Universal CPD webinar series was launched, providing language teachers with access to evidence-based professional development and learning. 
• In January 2024 NCLE expanded the digital reach of its work and resources for teachers and school leaders with the launch of a dedicated website. 
• In March 2024 the French Ambassador to the UK visited the Tyne to Tees Language Hub, Cardinal Hume Catholic School, as part of the Francophonie on the Road programme with partner Institut Français. 

Discover more highlights from NCLE’s first year.

Related links

• NCLE
• National Consortium for Languages Education (UCL website)
• IOE to lead new National Consortium for Languages Education

Contact

For further information, please contact: IOE.NCLE@ucl.ac.uk

Images

Top: credit - Phil Meech.
Bottom: Colourful map of England showing locations of Language Hub schools across the country, credit - NCLE.