Where to study Modern Languages and is it worth it?

[Operafanatic]

my child is doing French and Spanish at a level plus media studies (which he dislikes). School are v generous with predictions (they are obsessed with getting students into RG unis as it is a school performance measure). We didn’t realise school over-predict (head of sixth form said that parents pressure them to). My YP is predicted AAA as a result but no way they getting that - BBC most likely. Asking for advice about MFL as they seem to be the courses getting cut

Reading is fairly accessible for languages and from what I've heard they seem to be good courses.

Is he interested in continuing with bith languages? Or possibly combining language study with Intrrnational Relations?

Leaving aside the "is it worth it" element, the fact s/he's taken 2 language A levels presumably shows it's what s/he wants to do.

So yes. It is worth it.

And these days, there are so many combinations of languages + something else. S/he should start doing their research now. Times Good Uni guide is a good starting point. (presuming application is for next year?)

Dd is at Portsmouth studying languages. Dhe really likes her coursez it's applied languages. Lots of contact time and small classes. It isn't RG but it suits her and is more applied. I can't comment on whether it will be useful as she has only been there one year!

I would always say it's "worth" studying MFL as it is my subject.

I agree that if your DC has chosen two languages at A level they are obviously keen so continuing at uni would surely be a good choice. If they wanted they could combine the two MFLs, add a second ab initio or add another subject such as business or politics, if that is of interest.

A degree in MFL can lead to similar opportunities as many other humanities degrees, with a host of soft skills; plus it is great to be able to speak a language, or even two, to a high level. Careers that directly use MFL are limited IME (translator, interpreter, both competitive and challenging; teacher obviously!) but it's still a worthwhile offer to employers IMO.

I suspect the reason MFL courses are being cut at unis is because they are less popular (much less popular at A level than other subjects after all). So choose carefully. With BBC they are unlikely to be aiming for top tier unis but somewhere like Leicester (typical offer ABB) is worth a punt; Swansea is another great uni (typical offer AAB-BBC which is quite a range!).

Caveat: I have no idea whether these unis or which others are "good" for MFL, but if BBC is a realistic achievement then your DC is going to have to see where will work with that.

Want to put an alternative out there. Why do they want you to study languages at uni? What's the goal beyond that? If the goal is enjoying the languages and wanting to speak fluently, then 3 years uni might not be the best use of time or money.

All EU languages have exams under the CEFR. French and Spanish both go to the highest levels (C2). University is one way to study languages but it's not necessarily the most efficient. The Alliance Francaise and Instituto Cervantes can both advise.

This could be of particular interest if your child doesn't know what they want to do yet if than "languages" and student finance would be an issue if they discovered that after going to uni for a MFL degree.

Going back to uni though, worth noting that uni courses in MFL do not need you to have studied the same ones at school. Arabic, Russian, Mandarin etc are all options too.

• sorry no idea way it says "..want you to study.." my predictive text is adding whole words in today without me noticing!

I did a degree that included MFL (Business plus a language). From the experience side, it was great, as you got a year at a European university as part of the course. That said, most of the people doing pure MFL courses didn’t seem to get the most interesting careers. Often the jobs available are entry level customer service plus a language roles and so I often feel there are quite a lot of frustrated linguists around. My advice would be to do a degree that includes MFL but that has something else as part of it too. That allows her to combine her passion with practicality. Swansea and Cardiff are good for this kind of thing.

I’m in STEM but I would say (a) students do best when they follow their strengths; ( b) we need MFL and other Humanities programmes as they are signifiers of a civilised society; and (c) beyond the explicit training which will qualify students for relatively niche jobs, an MFL degree like most Humanities degree opens the door to many good graduate schemes.

I am really concerned about such a blatant level of overprediction, however. Does your DD’s headmaster not realise that by encouraging his pupils to aim too high he is actually doing them a disservice? Are the families not angry at having to scramble in August? Or have I got it wrong?

This kind of overprediction feeds a vicious cycle and serves no constructive purpose.

PS OP, we had a recent thread about the usefulness of an MFL degree. There were many great stories!

A joint degree is def worth investigating!

There are lots of combined courses including a foreign language.

Newcastle has an excellent MFL department but they want ABB.

The UCAS site will give an indication of accepted grades for courses and most common grade. Filter on 2025 entry. The lowest accepted grades are often lower than the standard offer (although this will include contextual offers). E.g for Spanish digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/results/courses?searchTerm=Modern%20languages&studyYear=2025&destination=Undergraduate&attendanceTypes=Full-time&subjects=Spanish&qualifications=Bachelor%20degrees%20(with%20or%20without%20Honours)&postcodeDistanceSystem=imperial&pageNumber=1&sort=MostRelevant&clearingPreference=None

I’d suggest Scotland. If you’re going to do a four year degree you may as well get the MA which can be useful in some countries (Germany for example). They also have some great courses.

So few people study a language now in the UK. Having one or two to a high level will set your dc apart. Careers wise, having 2 langs at degree level is a minimum requirement for many of the big international NGOs/ organisations (UN, etc) if your DC is interested in being a translator in one of those, or in one of the EU institutions if they are lucky enough to have dual nationality with an EU country - some really good salaries in both.

Even if they don't go into a language specific career, a degree in mfl is still a good, academically rigorous degree for many other careers (in the same way as English Lit, History etc).

Aren't Scottish arts and humanities MAs the equivalent of English and Welsh BAs?

Besides, with a year abroad I believe it is a 5 year course.

In Edinburgh the study abroad year can be within the four year duration. Most mfl degrees with a year abroad are four anyway. Swansea accepts lower grades, Lancaster is also flexible.

@poetryandwine we are very upset about the over prediction as my YP will now have to go through clearing. It is in humanity subjects and languages where the school seem to over predict, not STEM. I don’t know why this is but the sixth form is quite new (since 2020)

We will look at Leicester, Reading, Swansea, Portsmouth and Lancaster in clearing. I hope they will take BBC/BCC and have spaces! I am concerned because I only know about RG universities and have read that MFL courses are being stopped in many institutions due to funding pressures. What happens if you start a degree and then it is discontinued?

Perhaps some of the parents can band together to discuss this with the HM?

It will do his own reputation with Humanities Schools no good to become known for overpredictions of the degree you have described. If continued, applicants from the school won’t be taken seriously. There are no rules whatsoever about who will get an offer and this kind of nonsense is part of the reason why.

Very best wishes to your YP

Are they already holding offers? Unis may still accept a student who slips a grade but you won't know until results day.

If the university cuts the degree programme what this means is that the programme does not recruit any further students, however existing students remain on the programme until they have graduated. This is known as "teaching out" the degree programme.

However what this will probably mean in practice is whilst the core components of the programme (e.g. the language modules) will still continue to be taught as the university is bound by customer protection law to teach these elements, the optional modules will probably be restricted. This is because staff will leave and will not be replaced. If needed the university will buy in temporary staff members on short term contracts to teach out the existing students. It's not a great position to be in.

@LIZS yes, but the firm is AAB and the insurance is ABB. Prediction was AAA but my DC has never got more than a B in any mock exam or classwork. I should not have believed the prediction and feel stupid!

Agree with this. And, in the nicest way possible, if they’re only likely to get a B in both I wouldn’t say an academic degree would be the best use of time and funds.

I did MFL (although Oxbridge) and it is quite a demanding degree with all the literature.

Could they do something else and work abroad to keep the language skills up?

No you can do it in 4 years.

It’s not a post-grad MA but in certain countries where a UG is an MA, the BA is seen as lesser and it can be helpful to have the MA. I was routinely paid more than my colleagues who had BAs. If you do a degree in MfL, this might be relevant at some point.