Inspiring a love of languages

A successful mentoring initiative that has been developed and pioneered in Wales is to be piloted in England. The Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Student Mentoring Scheme, which is led by Cardiff University's School of Modern Languages, has been given funding by the Department for Education to introduce the project to 10 schools and 200 pupils in South Yorkshire. Working in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield University, the initiative will work to increase the number of students choosing to study a modern language at GCSE. The six-week programme is a mixture of face-to-face learning and online activities. Participating students will be assigned a mentor, who will support them to explore the benefits of language learning and to enhance their inter-cultural understanding and confidence. Since the Welsh Government began funding the project in 2015, the team has achieved great success, working with nearly half of all secondary schools in Wales. Partner schools have reported on average a doubling in the number of pupils choosing languages at GCSE as well as improved motivation to continue studying and go to university.