Spanish or Russian GCSE?

[ispecialiseinthis]

My DC GCSE options deadline is coming up and, as with most 14yo, they don’t currently have a career in mind.
The school will let them do a maximum of 10 GCSEs - 6 core subjects (triple science, English language and literature, maths). Doing both languages is not really an option, as it will mean dropping another option.

Any advice how to choose between the two languages? TIA

Well, if you’d consider living in Gloucestershire and hate talking about your job outside working hours …

As someone who has studied both, I’d say to pick the one he likes most and is most interested in.

It will be easier to pick up Spanish at a later stage in life. Mastering Russian will take more effort but if he has an interest, there’s an argument for mastering the basics at a younger age.

Russian will stand out more as a language and can open certain doors career-wise which Spanish won’t.

Spanish will be easier to do well at, and will be more useful in the short term if he likes to travel.

He could do Russian from scratch at university - and I think the same will be true for Spanish. Things could change quite quickly in terms of geopolitics but I think it’s reasonable to assume that if he did a languages degree, he would have more year abroad options open to him in 7 years’ time with Spanish than with Russian, and visiting Russia itself may not be an option in the short to medium term (as the FCDO currently advises against all travel, which means no travel insurance).

The point about resilience in teaching, ie what happens if the Russian teacher leaves, is a good one. Though I suspect a school which goes to the trouble of offering Russian at GCSE may not have issues retaining motivated staff.

He isn’t closing any doors permanently by choosing one rather than the other at this stage. Personally, I’d pick Russian because it’s fascinating and could open the door to a world of literature, history and culture which may not otherwise be so accessible - but you could make the same argument for Spanish!

Definitely agree that he should do the one he enjoys more. Both will teach language skills, which is the key thing - he can use those skills in later life to either pick up a new language or continue the one he chooses now. I don't think the holidays thing is very important - yes, Spanish is more widely spoken, but he's also more likely to find himself on holiday with someone else who can also speak Spanish.

My DS is doing Russian, absolutely loves it, and incidentally has been able to use his Russian on holiday - elsewhere in Europe not in Russia itself - when the rest of us didn't have a clue. Also, lots of Ukrainians speak Russian as their first or second language, so having Russian speakers around has been very helpful for anyone working with Ukrainian refugees. The point about teaching availability is valid, but hopeully if the school is offering GCSE Russian then they're pretty secure on that front.

But if he likes Spanish more, he should do that.

DD did Russian at GCSE and really enjoyed it. I would suggest your child does whichever language they like the best.

Why?

Education should broaden the mind, and allow people to explore what they are curious about. It doesn’t just have to be utilitarian.

OP, please let your child decide

Am I right in thinking the DC is already learning both languages? I think some PP assume they are picking up one or both ab initio in year 10? apologies if I'm wrong about that.

So if they are already studying both, then they must have a view which they prefer?

wrt Russian – my old MFL HoD had studied it at uni (alongside the MFL they taught) and when I said wow how cool, they said they felt it had been a massive waste of time. Obvs that's just one view but I think they found they could take it no further even as a teacher of MFL.

I went to the Soviet Union in 1991 (with Intourist) with a friend who had done Russian O level in 82/83. It was very helpful as she could 'read' the underground and street signs etc whereas I could only pattern match.

(As an aside, whilst leaving Moscow for Kazakhstan there were tanks rolling into the city in the opposite direction to us due to the coup on Gorbachev.)

Russian is not an easy language, and I personally would only learn it if I wanted to use it - for example, study Russian literature or work in Russia. Otherwise, you will have a very little chance of using it. All educated Russians would speak at least one other language - mostly English - so it would not be useful say, for business etc. I'm not a fan of Russia but I know there is a rich culture etc etc but still, its a fringe language and a fringe culture. Its not like China, for example.

Spanish is the language spoken by the half of the globe. Much more useful.

This. Russian is harder too so will stand out as a competitive advantage showing that a student can crack difficult stuff.

Bear in mind though that the main difficulty for English speakers is grammar and idiomatic usage, but at GCSE level it should be fine for someone who has an aptitude for languages.

Career wise, Russian is much more niche but excellent for civil service for obvious reasons.

BRICS is on the rise economically so all their language would be useful in 10-20 years time so I'd say keep Spanish too, maybe at Instituto Cervantes - Spanish will help with Portuguese later on.

The elites mostly speak English but not all business managers do.

Second this. DC studied both, found Spanish much easier. It's difficult to find Russian options outside of school though whilst you can get excellent tuition at Instituto Cervantes.

Spanish all the way, and I say that as a russian speaker myself. Even if neither would benefit her career, travelling South America is a much brighter perspective than reading Maxim Gorky and getting i d e a s (the worst possible kind).

Only Russian is always in demand within SIS and other organisations. More so than Spanish.

Most of the Ukrainians speak Russian though, and roughly 60% of them consider Russian mother tongue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_language_in_Ukraine

I hope you don't discriminate Ukrainians based on their Russian native language.

@LondonPapa SIS salary ceiling is very low, around 35K. Not exactly a career to aspire to...

If you are talented at languages take the harder option. I found it very hard to learn mandarin at 40+ and much easier to learn Spanish in my fifties.

Well, an acquaintance of mine got promoted in Big 4 after the war started, just because of their Russian skills...

You do realise that lots of American and British companies continue trading with Russia? Here is just a short list, there are much more doing this "discreetly" https://leave-russia.org/staying-companies

Unless you count the USA and the UK outside of "the world"...

It may depend on the timetabling layout (unless it's changed from 20 odd years ago!)

I wanted to do Spanish rather than French (one of my parents stipulations was to do a language) however it was in the block with triple science and at the time i wanted to do something veterinary so it had to be the triple science, so I did French

I found Spanish much easier to learn, we started in year 9, but had been doing French since year 7, hence why it would have been my preference

@PlumpHobbit it’s a shame you couldn’t do your MFL of choice but it’s rather unlikely that the OP’s DC’s school has an identical GCSE setup to yours!

@ispecialiseinthis are they thinking of taking the chosen MFL to A level and beyond? If not then a lot of our speculation here is moot tbh.

Spanish. Half the world speak it

Excuse me? I was simply stating the fact that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine the number of pupils taking Russian in DD’s school dropped enough to make the subject no longer viable. Nothing to do with discrimination of Ukrainians! For the record, DD has never taken Russian (although certainly found it a very interesting language from her taster lessons) and we are not involved in this decision in the slightest.

You can always count on MN to make everything about politics! 🙄

I have 4 languages to O'level (including Russian); 2 to A level, and 1 to degree level (plus my other A level language as a subsidiary in my degree. Here are my thoughts:

Russian may set DC apart from others should languages be relevant for their future degree or career
Not to GCSE level, as you know from what you went on to say:

Agree, GCSE in a language won’t get you far but thinking more of not closing doors by giving up the “wrong” language and, therefore, removing it as an option at A levels.
If your DC isn't hell bent on studying Russian to degree level, why would any choice be the wrong one at A'level?

DC does seem to have an aptitude for languages but not sure how far they would like to take it. They may end up dropping languages completely at Alevel.

So why are you stressing about a GCSE language choice?

In a top grammar where DC took Russian the entries rose from 31 in 2022/23 to 47 in 2023/24.
Maybe they were interested to speak with those Ukrainians, unlike in your DD's school 🤷‍♀️

Also a top grammar here, in fact the best and most competitive in our region of the UK. It is very well known and world renowned, often compared to the likes of Eton without the fees. Take your snarky and unpleasant remarks to the school itself if you have an issue with things. Don’t dare call my DD’s peers ‘uninterested’. I’m simply stating fact as a bystander.