It was once a highly esteemed part of the curriculum, but MFL has been thrown into the ‘too hard’ basket. The time has come to make languages compulsory at GCSE once again, says Ellie Baker


The Covid-19 pandemic has created a whole new level of uncertainty and disruption in post-Brexit Britain and across the world. Intercultural understanding is at risk as division between communities widens due to social isolation and a dramatic decline in travel. The need for foreign language learning is more important than ever to help bridge these gaps.

It is difficult to understand where the marginalisation of modern foreign languages (MFL) has come from and, more importantly, why we have allowed this to happen.

Learning a foreign language at school was never really viewed as easy, but the validity of having a second or third language under your belt was never questioned. But in 2020 the narrative could not be more different.

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