Language teachers, like other teachers, had to quickly rethink priorities and means of delivery in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as measures to manage the pandemic. It isn’t surprising then that some of the findings in our 2021 survey relate to the pandemic.

Language teaching was suspended by local education boards at one in five primary schools in January 2021 due to Covid-19, and the impact has been felt more acutely in deprived areas. Teachers in state secondary schools report that two in five pupils in Key Stage 3 (lower secondary) did not engage with language learning during the first national lockdown, leading to time lost to language learning for a lot of pupils.

Dr Ian Collen said that “the most disadvantaged pupils are most likely to have been negatively affected by the impact of Covid-19, experiencing greater disruption to their language learning and fewer international opportunities. Looking to the future, schools should consider giving more curriculum time to languages, as well as more opportunities to use languages in real life, such as visits abroad.”

Many teachers reported that they cannot wait to get back to face-to-face teaching in the classroom. Despite the barriers they have faced over the past year, it is encouraging to see how they pivoted to remote learning during the national lockdowns.

Internet: <www.britishcouncil.org> (adapted).