Modern Foreign Languages

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 11 January 2023.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 3:00, 11 January 2023

Gweinidog, the new curriculum has a commitment to making Wales a truly multilingual nation. There is also the programme for government commitment along those lines and, as you say, the 'Global Futures' strategy having recently been updated also. But despite all of that, Minister, we know that there has been a considerable drop in the number of students taking German and French at GCSE and A-level. I think the drop is roughly a half between 2015 and 2021. I'm sure there are various factors behind this, Minister, but obviously it is a trend that's very unwelcome, given the Welsh Government's stated ambitions. I'm sure all of us here want to see Wales as an international country offering opportunities to our young people in terms of work and travel and personal development. I just wonder, Minister, given the reality on the ground at the moment, what more the Welsh Government can do, working with schools, teachers and other education providers, to reverse this trend and see the sort of progress that the Welsh Government wants to see into the future.