Emma Wass with Annika Vale (left), Katherine Smith and Cllr Mike Reynolds
GCSE results in August showed the percentage of students leaving school with a decent grasp of foreign languages at a record low. The number of students taking a language at GCSE has dropped by a third since the government made it optional in 2004.
Communities Live presenter Emma Wass spoke to Cllr Mike Reynolds from Languages Sheffield, Katherine Smith from the IBC programme and Annika Vale from local translation company TransAction Translators, to discuss this issue.
The panel discussed the coalition’s proposal to reintroduce a compulsory language at GCSE, which languages children should be studying, and why it is important to have knowledge of a foreign language.
The report was aired on Communities Live.