In January this year we launched the Duolingo Westminster Language Challenge with a simple goal: to reenergize the conversation around languages in the UK. Over 200 parliamentarians took part, completing 65,000 lessons in everything from Spanish and French to Vietnamese and Zulu. In doing so, they reminded us that the appetite to learn languages is alive and well. It just doesn’t always show up in the places we’re used to looking.
Now, we’re proud to sponsor a new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), A Languages Crisis, which shows how urgently we need to act. The report paints a stark picture: a sharp decline in formal language learning across schools and universities, with uptake of modern languages at A-Level falling below 3%, a widening participation gap between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and 28 university language departments closed since 2014.
This comes at a time when technology is reshaping how we learn, when global connection matters more than ever, and when support for formal language learning is under real pressure. We need to rethink the role that languages play in our society.
Too often, the conversation around language learning in the UK is framed negatively: that we’re no good at it, that young people aren’t interested, that English is enough. But the data tells a different story. The UK ranks second in the world for the proportion of Duolingo learners studying more than one language. And it’s under-22s leading the way - choosing Japanese, Korean, and Chinese in growing numbers.
What we’re missing isn’t interest. It’s good pathways. We need a national approach that joins the dots: between early enthusiasm and formal opportunity; between self-directed learning and academic recognition; between the languages spoken at home and those supported in schools.
That’s why we’re proud to sponsor this report. It sets out clearly and persuasively what’s at stake, and what can be done. It shows that languages aren’t a luxury - they’re a bridge: helping us connect across cultures, compete in global markets, and build a more empathetic, outward-looking society.
The report offers ten clear recommendations for how we can turn things around. From tackling teacher recruitment to creating better qualification pathways, from strengthening university language departments to supporting British Sign Language and heritage languages, it lays out a roadmap for change.
At Duolingo, we’ll keep doing our part: supporting teachers and learners, working with universities, helping migrants learn English, and engaging millions every day in the joy of learning a new language.But we also know that the change this report envisages will only come through collaboration - between policymakers, educators, innovators and learners themselves.
Our hope is that this report helps catalyze that conversation, and that the momentum we’ve seen in Parliament with the Westminster Language Challenge can now spread more widely to universities, classrooms, and communities across the UK.