Language learning at schools in Northern Ireland is "slowly recovering from the pandemic", new research suggests.
The Language Trends Northern Ireland report from the British Council shows that a previous decline in the popularity of languages is "plateauing".
Spanish has emerged as the most popular language at both A-level and GCSE, overtaking French as the most popular GCSE language in summer 2021.
Up until 2021, French was the most studied language at GCSE, however the language has been on a steep decline since the turn of the millennium.
Irish has remained relatively stable at GCSE since 2007 and is once again the second most popular language at A-level in schools in the north, ahead of French.
German figures continue to decline, with the subject offered only in 17 per cent of responding schools at Key Stage 3, and nearly a 50 per cent decrease in uptake at GCSE from 2002 to 2022.
Outside the ‘big four’ languages, schools offer several languages as part of extra-curricular or enrichment subjects at Key Stage 4, including Polish, Portuguese, Arabic and Mandarin, with a growing number of schools offering newcomer pupils the opportunity to take exams in their home or community languages.
Despite this, there has been a sharp decline in the uptake of these languages at GCSE during the pandemic.
In terms of languages that students would like to learn, Italian came out on top.
When asked about the value of languages, almost all pupils did not see the potential for languages as part of their future careers, with just 14.2 per cent of the 1,158 Year 9 pupils surveyed expressing any likelihood of using languages in the future.
However, motivation for language learning in Year 9 is still high with most young people (74 per cent) enjoying languages at Key Stage 3.
In the grammar sector, teachers estimate 75 per cent of their Year 11s are learning a language (up from 65 per cent in 2021), compared to 16 per cent in non-grammar schools (down from 23 per cent in 2021).
Eleven responding secondary schools reported having no pupils in Year 11 modern languages, compared to four schools in 2021.
In primary schools, languages are recovering, having almost collapsed following the Covid-19 pandemic, with 51 per cent of responding schools teaching languages.
The research was carried out by Dr Ian Collen, director of the NI Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research at Queen’s University Belfast.
“Following years of decline, language learning in Northern Ireland has stabilized," he said.
"Whilst other UK jurisdictions and Ireland are investing in language learning, there is an urgent need to start similar endeavours in Northern Ireland to ensure we have a multilingual workforce ready to grow our economy.
"It would be timely to overhaul curriculum content and assessment of languages to better reflect the lives of young people today, and offer appropriate vocational qualifications in languages through progression pathways for all learners.”
Jonathan Stewart, director of the British Council NI, said: "With positive signs of recovery in the primary school sector and a plateau in the decline of languages in post-primary schools, there is much to be encouraged by.
“Our increasingly multicultural society makes it more important than ever to promote languages in our schools, equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive in future careers.
"Strong language skills enhance communication and interpersonal skills, expand career opportunities, and develop intercultural awareness. "
