North Korea launches ballistic missiles toward sea
North Korea has launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea, escalating tensions in the region.
NPR Topics: News1 min read
'We're not teaching them to order baguettes' - languages enjoy a renaissance in schools
TL;DR
A new mentoring project at Cardiff University is revitalizing language learning in schools by focusing on cultural understanding rather than traditional grammar. Students like Hugo are now exploring languages like Mandarin as part of this innovative approach.
Key points
- Cardiff University leads a modern foreign languages mentoring project
- Focus on cultural understanding rather than traditional grammar
- Students are learning languages like Mandarin
- Engaging methods include sport, performance, and body language
- Decline in language uptake is being reversed
Mentioned in this story
Cardiff University
When Hugo signed up for a project to help him decide if he wanted to study French at GCSE, he had no idea it would lead him to learn Mandarin.
The Year 10 pupil is one of a growing number who are helping turn around years of decline in language uptake thanks to a more novel approach to learning, courtesy of the Cardiff University-led modern foreign languages (MFL) mentoring.
Project head Lucy Jenkins said it "takes the language learning out of language" by exposing pupils to ideas to make them think about the reasons for learning another language, rather than the traditional vocabulary and grammar.
Sport, performance and culture, body language and even gestures are all used in the course and, until a few years ago, no language was taught at all.
"It's not so you can order a baguette in a boulangerie. It's so that you can understand that other people have different perspectives to you and they see things, feel things, taste things, experience in a really broad way their whole world in a different way," said Lucy.
MFL mentoring figures showed increases in uptake for two consecutive years, rising 3.6% in 2023-24 and 9.6% in 2024-25, with 4,292 entries in 2025 according to the British Council.
This follows gloomy predictions for the numbers studying the languages by 2030 after the number of pupils in Wales taking French and German almost halved between 2015 and 2021.
But as Hugo and fellow pupils at Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, discovered, this innovative programme has helped turn the tide.
It deliberately targets pupils who are undecided about taking a language, which is assessed by a questionnaire, and focuses on learning about identity.
"We get them to think about the world in which they live, the things they do, the food that they eat, and then we start to think about the language learning," said Lucy.
When the scheme began in 15 schools in 2015, it was much more functional.
University students studying French, German or Spanish were recruited as mentors to teach school pupils, but then there was an overhaul to try this novel approach.
When student mentor Firial Benamer began volunteering on the programme five years ago, there was no language teaching component whatsoever.
The Cardiff University PhD student said the programme, now in 111 schools, had evolved and some sessions have a "mini-taster" of languages.
A native Arabic speaker, born in Libya before moving to Swansea as a teenager, she can also use herself as an example – she has learned Japanese and Turkish and is looking to become fluent in Welsh.
Q&A
What is the Cardiff University-led MFL mentoring project?
The MFL mentoring project aims to enhance language learning by focusing on cultural perspectives and practical applications rather than just vocabulary and grammar.
How is the approach to language learning changing in schools?
The new approach emphasizes understanding different cultures and perspectives, using methods like sport, performance, and body language to engage students.
Why has there been a decline in language uptake in schools?
Years of traditional teaching methods focused on grammar and vocabulary have contributed to a decline in student interest in learning foreign languages.
What languages are students learning through this new project?
Students are exploring various languages, including Mandarin, as part of the innovative mentoring project that encourages broader cultural understanding.
