Languages for All? This Year, it’s Languages for Some.

With the recent announcement that the University of Nottingham is suspending new entries into its Modern Language courses, the decline of languages in the UK is looming large. Whilst Languages and Global Cultures at Lancaster is not currently under threat of closure, the department has not gone unaffected by the difficult climate higher education finds itself in.

After graduating this summer with degrees in French and Chinese (though it was originally French and Maths) and French and Linguistics, our joy soon faded when we found out that our courses at Lancaster were being phased out. Although it will be possible to begin a BA in Languages and Global Cultures in 2026, which could include studying French and Chinese within your degree, students will no longer be able to study Linguistics and a language joint honours.

Linguistics will not be the only discipline losing the option to pair with a language - the change affects a diverse range of subjects, including Criminology and Mathematics. Hearing the news, we were left imagining a world where we entered university in 2026 - only this time, we would never have applied to Lancaster because the degrees that attracted us in the first place wouldn't exist anymore.

This year, we both started Master's at Lancaster, and showing a clear inability to go cold turkey on languages, we looked to the Languages for All programme to provide us our fix. Languages for All provided evening language classes, welcoming in both students and the local community to learn together. It offered Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish classes for learners of different proficiency levels. We both decided to do Arabic classes, with Grace having enjoyed German the year before, and eagerly checked the website for details, only to find it curiously empty. Discovering it was postponed for this academic year (with the exception of Chinese), our plans to get stuck into a new language went down the drain.

Following the initial disappointment, we wondered how others were feeling about the programme being paused. We spoke to the President of the Languages Society, Natasha and she said that 'many languages students have been saddened to learn that the scheme has been postponed this year' and mentioned that students from many different degree programmes had planned to learn a language. She also noted that there could have been better communication in informing the student body of this 'fantastic cocurricular scheme' being paused.

One such student, Lizzie, took Dutch classes last year, after becoming interested in the culture and language through music. Having an interest in a culture is just one motivation for taking classes, and Lizzie noted that 'many students, staff and locals are learning languages for many different reasons: to connect with family, friends, heritage, for future employment…'

Another student, Eve, wanted to 'increase [her] employability and job prospects' by taking classes in Italian or German this year. 'Languages are an important skill not just for graduates but anyone entering the workforce,' she said. She underlined her disappointment upon hearing about the postponement and feels that it 'doesn't align with the values that the university is trying to promote.'

It is not only students, however, that can benefit from Languages for All classes, but also members of the Lancaster community. One staff member said that the postponement of the classes speaks to the wider question of the university's role in the community. He added that the loss of these classes is a loss of a service to the community, which can provide a chance for socially isolated people to spend time with others.

Languages for All not only creates a space for the University and the city of Lancaster to intersect but also allows friendship and a community to be fostered around the classes. Andrea, a student who participated last year, described how in going to the classes 'you're part of the community,' and that 'there were events going on [that] you then attended with your classmates whom you ended up friends with'.

In talking to staff and students, we have found a continuing love for languages and desire to take extracurricular classes. Andrea, Eve, and Lizzie all also mentioned the wider importance of language learning in a globalising world. Despite English becoming an international language, it remains necessary to learn other languages in order to connect with others and share knowledge. Given that the interdisciplinary language degree combinations have been scrapped, the need for Languages for All has become even more apparent. One staff member expanded on this:

Nationally, there are a number of threats and opportunities. Universities are moving away from combinations, which is often a natural interest for many young people wanting to come to university. And in light of the cancellation of combinations at Lancaster, [it] makes Languages for All an even more important opportunity for young people. While there is a national trend in the UK, one would hope that the university would also be at the forefront of positive opportunities rather than falling in with the national trend.

Another staff member shared similar sentiments about combination degrees and added that the classes offered an opportunity to foster multicultural awareness, so hoped that the programme would return. She spoke more generally about worries that higher education in the UK is too concerned with saving money and does not give enough weight to the subsequent impact on students.

Wishing to clarify the future of Languages for All, we asked the School of Global Affairs for comment:

Languages and Global Cultures is a defining discipline within the School of Global Affairs. Colleagues within the School believe we cannot study global affairs, which are tantamount to global challenges and problems, without the ability to effectively communicate, translate, and understand cultural differences and similarities.

The national landscape for languages and for all of higher education is difficult right now and we are, unfortunately, seeing closures at other universities. This is a loss to students and communities across the UK. With some of this context in mind, we did pause Languages for All this year while we determine how to reposition it for the future.

The School of Global Affairs remains committed to the study of a broad range of languages at Lancaster. We seek to reintroduce language teaching that is accessible to all students. Furthermore, we hope, through strategic initiatives to see growth in languages, leading to an additional range of languages offered and different formats for students and community members to study them.

Even if we will not see it ourselves, as we graduate in 2026, we are calling for Languages for All to be reinstated in the next academic year.

Moreover, we hope that languages in Lancaster and in the UK can ride out the storm raging in the discipline and that in twenty years, we'll be able to revisit the department that gave us so much joy and reminisce with future Languages students at Lancaster University.

Written by Grace Cooke & Lizzie Coopland