{"id":1462,"date":"2013-07-23T15:47:48","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T15:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johncanning.net\/wordpress\/?p=1462"},"modified":"2013-07-23T15:47:48","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T15:47:48","slug":"why-applications-to-study-languages-might-not-be-declining-as-much-we-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johncanning.net\/wp\/?p=1462","title":{"rendered":"Why applications to study languages might not be declining as much we think."},"content":{"rendered":"

Headlines such as Times Higher Education\u2019s \u201cUcas stats reveal languages decline\u201d <\/a>have become an annual ritual in recent years. Group R (European Langs, Lit & related) down \u00a0from 22,486\u00a0 to 21,248 applicants ( -1,238\u00a0 -5.5%). Group T (Non-European Langs, Lit and related ) went from 6,678 students in \u00a02012 to 6,241 in 2013 (-437\u00a0 -6.5%).<\/p>\n

I was struck by the vast increase (28.7%) in the number of applicants classified in Z. General, other, combined and unknown. In fact 297,071 students (11.9%) are classified either in a Y category (Combined arts, combined sciences, combined social sciences, sciences combined with social sciences, sciences combined with social sciences or arts, social sciences combined with arts) or in category Z. \u00a0Given the high proportion of language students who are doing combined\/ joint degrees I suspect (but can\u2019t prove) increasing number of linguists are finding their way in categories Y and Z.<\/p>\n