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Australia and England are both multicultural countries where hundreds of languages are spoken. However, in both, levels of language learning at school are worryingly low.

Australia has seen a major downturn in language learning. In 2021, of students in year 12—the final year of compulsory education—were studying a language.

for England show the numbers of young people taking languages at GCSE to some degree. However, since 2004, when a language subject was made optional after the age of 16, there has been a .

In both countries, the lack of a strong contributes to low enrollment and achievement rates in foreign language education. That both countries are English-speaking also leads to the idea that there is limited use in learning , because English is so widely spoken worldwide.

This has resulted in the perception that inhabitants of both and are poor language learners.

Appetite to learn

suggests this is not necessarily true. There is an appetite for language learning among young people in both countries, along with . However, such as harsh grading and teacher recruitment problems have meant this doesn't always translate into full classrooms.

As fewer young people take languages after the ages of 14 and 16, there is a knock-on effect at degree level and beyond. This affects the .

that making language learning compulsory for longer is vital to increasing participation in language subjects. However, research by one of us (Abigail) in England indicates that students who choose to study a language are than those for whom it is compulsory.

European languages have traditionally dominated language teaching in both countries. However, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, GCSE entries in ""—any language other than French, German, Irish, Spanish and Welsh—are rising. In Wales, are attempting to secure the Welsh language learning pipeline from early years all the way to university, in addition to making Welsh more visible in media and daily life.

Numerous attempts have been made to improve Australia's Asian language capacities, in an effort to strengthen regional ties. Despite over (adjusted for inflation) of investment in government programs, the past 20 years have seen a in numbers studying Asian languages there. Only Korea has seen any growth—but this can mostly be attributed to the rise of K-pop, rather than any Australian government initiative.

This musical phenomenon, along with such as the Netflix series Squid Game and the film Parasite, has seen .

Both England and Australia could use these successes to capitalize on language learning potential. are already making the most of this wave of Korean popularity, called , to entice as many students as possible to the subject—but the language is not available as a school subject in England.

Australia is also taking steps to revitalize the and with future generations. Prior to colonization, throughout Australia. But a 2013 survey found only approximately 123 were in use, with only 12 being considered "strong."

Australian primary students in particular . This desire was also reflected in Louisa's Ph.D. data collection, with one university student saying: "If we have a look [at the languages spoken] internally, before we look externally, I think we'll find a lot more answers, because there's a wealth of resources here."

This reflects a growing appetite among young people in Australia to learn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as part of a more locally grounded education.

Through our work, we feel strongly that educators should listen more closely to what students are saying they want, rather than taking the well-worn route of telling them to learn a language for economic or strategic reasons.

By listening more closely to the interests and goals of young people in schools, we can start to provide teaching which —even if, in the short-to-medium term, systemic problems such as the supply of teachers and resources also need to be addressed.

Students need to see the benefits of learning a language for themselves, and have the opportunity to connect with a language on their own terms. asked language students in Australia about improving language participation. As one participant answered, students need to realize "what a cool life they're going to have from knowing a language."