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Trends in language education in England

• Foreign languages
  • A-level French, German and Spanish entries since 1938
  • A-level French and German entries as proportion of all entries since 1938
  • BA French and German applications, 1996-2006
  • Available BA French and German degrees, 2000 and 2007
  • Undergraduates on BA French, German and Spanish degrees, 1998-2007
  • Recruitment of trainee teachers since 2000
  • (Note: According to Lid King, A-level entries for languages in 2010 were lower than they were in 1965.)
• English
  • A-level English, all boards, since 2003
    • English language
    • English language and literature
    • English literature
  • Comparison of all three subjects
  • A-level English language, AQA mode B only, 1990-present
• Linguistics
  • BA Linguistics applications, 1996-2007

Foreign languages

A-level (A2) French, German and Spanish entries 1938-2010 (all UK except Scotland)

• click here for figures
• source:
• 2000-: CILT figures based on JCQ
• 1992-2000: Kelly and Jones 2003 (A New Landscape for Languages)
• 1990-1991: Mitchell 2002 (Foreign language education in an age of global English. Inaugural lecture).
• 1988-9: CILT and JCQ staff
• 1938, 1965, 1975 and 1985: Eric Hawkins (ed.) 30 Years of Language Teaching (CILT, 1996), 388, 390.

A-level French and German entries as proportion of all entries since 1938, measured every ten years (last: 2005)

• click here for figures
• source:
• 1938-1995: Eric Hawkins (ed.) 30 Years of Language Teaching (CILT, 1996), 388.
• 2005: JCQ

BA French, German and Spanish (and combinations) applications since 1996 (all UK)

• click here for figures
• source: UCAS

Available BA French and German degrees, 2000 and 2007

• click here for figures
• source: Research Review in Modern Languages. (LLAS Subject Centre, University of Southampton, in partnership with UCML)

Undergraduates on BA French, German and Spanish degrees since 1998

• click here for figures
• source:
  • 1998-2001: Hilary Footitt, The National Languages Strategy in Higher Education (DfES, 2005), Table 1. [These figures are attributed to HESA but are significantly different from those in HESA's current tables for the years concerned.]
  • 2002-7: HESA

Initial Teacher Training in foreign languages since 2000-1

• Students recruited (via PGCE course or employment) for all languages, and DCSF targets
  • click here for figures
  • source: CILT summary of DCSF recruitment/ registrations data
• PGCE Modern Languages applications
  • click here for figures
  • source: GTTR:
    • Overall figures for all languages: Annual Statistical Reports, table 'Totals of Applicants by Subject, Age Range and Ethnic Origin'
    • Figures for individual languages: applicant statistics for last two years

English

A-level English, all boards, June exams only, 2003-2010

• Language: click here for figures
• Language and Literature: click here for figures
• Literature: click here for figures
• Comparison of Language, Language and Literature, and Literature: click here for figures
• sources:
  • AQA: source
  • Edexcel: source (search 'statistics', select 'GCE Statistics')
  • OCR: source, with additional help from OCR staff.
  • WJEC: source

A-level English Language (AQA Lang A&B only), 1985-2010

• click here for figures
• sources:
  • 2000-7: AQA
  • 1990-9: AQA staff provided figures for JMB and NEAB
  • 1983-9: no longer available even in AQA; 210 candidates sat the exam in 1985.

Linguistics

BA Linguistics applications, 1996-2006

• click here for figures
• source: UCAS