Post-secondary school students are shunning foreign languages at critical levels, according to a new study.
Researchers noted that in 2007 just over 15 per cent of students registered for Advanced Level exams in French, German, Italian or Spanish. By 2022, this number dropped dramatically to just 3.6 per cent.
Anne-Marie Bezzina Busuttil from the University of Malta and Jessica Bajada Sultana from St Clare College in Pembroke sought to investigate the attitudes, perceptions, and motivations of students toward foreign language learning.
“The situation is immediately critical at post-compulsory education level,” the researchers say.
The study was carried out through an online questionnaire distributed to students at four post-secondary institutions.
Among other things, students were asked about the importance and relevance of learning foreign languages, their views on the usefulness of languages for their career prospects and personal development, and the factors influencing their decision to study or avoid foreign languages.
The researchers then linked the findings to broader themes such as curricular issues, teacher influence, and socio-cultural factors.
Negative experiences of learning a foreign language at secondary school seem to contribute greatly to the decline. Thirty per cent of students reported losing faith in their ability to learn a language due to poor performance at secondary level. The fact foreign languages are compulsory also appears to be counterproductive, with 26 per cent saying they had a bad experience at that level.
There is also a perception that foreign languages are not useful. Just over a fifth of students felt that studying languages would limit their career options, while 11 per cent did not think languages would lead to lucrative professions.
The researchers used French as a case study to explore the decline in foreign language learning, as the French language has experienced a steep drop in popularity among Maltese post-secondary students.
The researchers recommended the authorities urgently establish a policy framework to strengthen the role of languages in higher education, while promoting multilingualism in conjunction with the European Union’s goal of cultural and economic integration.
They also believe the ‘English-is-enough’ mindset in Malta should be challenged by emphasising the growing importance of multilingualism in a globalised world.