How many languages can you speak? Modern language study is in decline at Irish universities

SPEAKING A MODERN language is increasingly valuable in the global workforce but despite spending years learning a language in school, few Irish students continue to fluency.

Only a small percentage end up studying one at university, according to the 2026 Language Trends Ireland report commissioned by the British Council and Post-Primary Languages Ireland.

Conducted by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast, the researchers used nationwide surveys to collect information from school leaders, first-year students and fifth-year students on the experience of learning languages.

While over 90% of students take on a language for their Leaving Certificate, only 4% of students continue to study it at university, it stated. 

School leaders also reported that students failed to see the relevance of language learning.

These are core challenges that face language proficiency in Ireland, according to Jennifer Bruen, head of applied language and intercultural studies at Dublin City University.

Bruen said the drop-off is not due to a lack of interest in language learning, but rather to “structural barriers to continuing the study of languages for students who do not want to study them as part of a specialist degree”.

Strategies such as awarding students extra credit for studying a language at university and providing a wider choice of languages are suggested to increase engagement.

“This would allow the study of languages in Ireland to extend forward into third level and beyond as part of a lifelong language learning approach,” Bruen explained.

Poor language uptake in universities can lead to a shortage of qualified language teachers in schools, the report authors argued.

They claimed it also limits career opportunities for graduates at home and in multinational sectors.

Ireland is a major hub for tech, pharma and finance, but a lack of language skills forces companies to hire workers from Europe rather than local graduates, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) showed in its annual report this year. 

Young Irish people are behind in language learning

Data compiled by the European Commission this year revealed that Ireland ranks near the bottom of the European table in language proficiency. 

Young people, in particular, are the most likely group in Europe to struggle with foreign languages, the data found. 

Most Irish students spend six years of secondary school studying at least one modern language.

However, this does not translate into sustained fluency, as suggested by the data.

Oral language accounts for just 25% of final grades across French, German and Spanish.

Nicolas Frossard, course coordinator at the Alliance Française, said that students needed “more concrete discussions” in a chosen language and that spoken communication is often a weak area.

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This concern was also highlighted in reports by language examiners in schools with the State Examinations Commission.

Observations revealed an overreliance on rote learning, with students unsure how to use a language in authentic, spontaneous contexts.

One sixth-year student told The Journal that although she enjoys learning Spanish she is yet to use it outside a classroom context. This is a similar situation to many of her classmates. 

“We do a lot of reading comprehensions and writing. I’m not that great at the speaking part, but I definitely want to be more fluent,” she told The Journal. 

Primary schools to introduce languages for the first time

Most Irish students do not learn a modern language until they enter second level at the age of 12 or 13.

In contrast, the majority of EU countries introduce at least one compulsory language in primary school.

But for the first time this September, Irish primary school students will begin to follow suit.

A new Modern Foreign Language (MFL) programme will be fully rolled out by the 2030/2031 school year, according to the Department of Education.

Schools are given the freedom to choose a language that best fits their staff skills, training capacity, and local student demographics.

This can include core European languages, as well as Irish Sign Language (ISL), Mandarin Chinese, and Hebrew, among others.

Ahead of the new curriculum, over 1,200 schools across the country participated in the Say Yes to Languages programme, a 10-week sampler module in a chosen language.

Máirín Ní Chéileachair, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), remarked that the response among students was overwhelmingly positive.

However, there were concerns ahead of the full implementation of the programme as a “large number of teachers don’t feel prepared” in the instruction of a modern language.

“We are adamant that upskilling needs to be provided by the Department of Education, we are generalists, not specialists in primary.”

Although Ni Chéileachair welcomes the introduction of the new curriculum, she stressed that there was “a lack of direction from the department at this point”.

Learning outcomes will focus on developing children’s language and cultural awareness as well as competency, as outlined in the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment framework.

Karen Ruddock, director of Post-primary Languages Ireland, told The Journal that introducing languages to students earlier is a significant development.

She said it increases the likelihood that they will continue with a language in post-primary and beyond, ”ensuring that more young people can benefit from the opportunities that languages provide and be able to participate as global citizens”.