BRITISH universities are being forced to “dumb down” foreign language degrees because of a dramatic drop in the number of teenagers studying languages at school, according to an official report, the Guardian has said.
Universities are accused of “betraying” the discipline by replacing language courses with “cultural studies” and translating texts for students to interpret, while the government is accused of neglecting languages by diverting funding to science, technology and engineering subjects.
The report by Michael Worton, the vice-provost of University College London, was ordered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce). It showed that between 2003 and 2008, the proportion of all students in the UK on languages degrees dropped from 3.3 percent to 2.9 percent. Over the same period, the total number of full-time language students dropped five percent compared with an 11 percent increase in student numbers overall.
Worton recommended establishing a forum for government departments, Hefce, schools and employers to agree on language plans.
