Feminisation, masculinisation and the other: re-evaluating the language learning decline in England

Modern Foreign Language (MFL) education has long been described as being ‘in crisis’ by virtue of a decline in the numbers students entered for exams at age 16 and 18. Whilst this is generally attributed to policy, harsh grading rise global English, paper challenges view positioning intersection feminising subject an othering speakers languages taught. Using loosely Foucauldian form discourse analysis, academic literature, published reports on language needs teaching, original qualitative data from two studies are drawn together. A around MFL identified, juxtaposed with masculinising more generally, leading devaluing subject. Edward Said’s orientalism explored framework discussion media public ‘othering’ commonly taught ‘fetishisation’ less languages. It argued that overcoming uptake modern foreign will require reconceptualising problem policy level change discourses surrounding