Irish is on the rise with Spanish now most popular language taught in NI
The number of pupils taking Irish at GCSE level is also rising, showing an increase of 14.9% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
But the number of primary schools in favour of making language learning mandatory has fallen to 74.3% (down from 84% in 2023). While three in four Year 9 pupils said they enjoy language classes, 89% see little relevance to their future careers and less than one third currently intend to study a language at GCSE.
Irish is now the most common language taught at Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11), ahead of Spanish and French.
For the first time the research also looked at AI technology in primary and post-primary classrooms and found that although some post-primary schools are using AI, uptake remains limited. A few schools (7.6%) use AI technology regularly and over two-fifths (41.9%) use it occasionally in a few lessons per month. However, nearly half (49.5%) do not use AI at all in language teaching. Meanwhile, in primary schools the majority (81.3%) of teachers have never used AI technology.
The research was carried out by Dr Ian Collen and Dr Jayne Duff at Queen's University Belfast on behalf of British Council Northern Ireland.
'Artificial Intelligence is not just a buzzword; it's a transformative force that is shaping industries, societies, and the way we learn languages,' Dr Collen said.
'Our research suggests that AI is underdeveloped in local classrooms; yesterday's launch of the Strategic Review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum presents an opportunity to align language pedagogy with powerful knowledge from and through AI, enriching pupils' learning and fostering skills which are relevant today and in the future.'
This year's report reveals that home, heritage and community languages are gaining significant visibility and support. There are now more than 21,350 newcomer pupils (learners whose home language is neither English nor Irish) enrolled in Northern Ireland schools, accounting for six per cent of the school population in 2024-25.
More schools are offering support to pupils to take exams in their home languages, with 70.5% of the post-primary schools surveyed offering pupils the opportunity to sit exams in their home or community languages, either within the school or externally. The research also highlights the growing linguistic diversity in schools, with nearly 30 different ones spoken at home by pupils in post-primary education.
These include Arabic, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Polish, Portuguese and Mandarin. Some schools report offering these heritage languages as part of enrichment or extra-curricular programmes.
There has also been a shift in the popularity of the main languages taught in post-primary schools. Spanish has overtaken French for the first time as the most popular language at Key Stage 3, with 84.8% of schools now teaching Spanish, compared to 81% for French, down from 90% in 2023. Irish is also seeing growth at Key Stage 3, taught in 41.9% of schools, up from 35% in 2023.
At GCSE level, Spanish remains the most popular language, having held the top spot since overtaking French in 2021. In contrast, French continues to decline, with 11.4% of schools offering post-16 courses reporting that they have discontinued the subject.
Meanwhile, Irish is experiencing renewed growth, with entries increasing by 14.9% in 2024 compared to 2023.
German has faced a sustained long-term decline, with GCSE entries dropping by more than half since 2002 — from 1,390 to just 638 in 2024. At A-level, Spanish remains the most popular language, followed by Irish and then French. German entries remain low.
The report cites several factors as barriers to uptake at post-primary with 49% of post-primary schools reporting language classes won't run without sufficient enrolment, 36.2% report that pupils may be advised by senior leadership not to take a language and a third (33.3%) of schools surveyed discourage lower-attaining pupils from taking languages.
Asked what languages they'd like to learn, pupils ranked Italian highest for the second year in a row, with 16.5% of Year 9 pupils interested, followed by Spanish at 14.9% and Irish at 8.3%.
Jonathan Stewart, director of British Council Northern Ireland, said: 'We understand that learning a language fosters connections, trust, and understanding between people, communities, and countries.
'Language skills and international experiences are essential valuable assets for Northern Ireland's future, particularly as young people face an increasingly complex and interconnected global landscape.'
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