ITI raises serious concerns over proposed course closures
ITI's Chief Executive has written to senior leaders at Cardiff University raising the Institute's serious concerns about their plans to close modern languages and translation courses, and warns of the serious economic, cultural and educational risks of such a move.
FAO Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner FRSNZ FAcSS PFHEA FNZGS and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Damian Walford Davies MA MPhil DPhil FLSW
Dear Professors,
Proposed closure of the School of Modern Languages
The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) would like to register its profound concern regarding Cardiff University’s proposed closure of the School of Modern Languages and, specifically, the withdrawal of the undergraduate and postgraduate translation courses. According to your university’s website, Cardiff “boasts one of the largest and most dynamic modern languages schools in the UK” which suggests that pressing ahead with the current proposals would create a devastating gap in tertiary-level language teaching within and beyond Wales. The move would also cause significant harm to Wales’s educational, cultural and economic prospects.
National policy
We note that the proposals, and the concerns subsequently expressed by a number of stakeholders, prompted questions from Members of the Senedd on 29 January 2025. It would appear that Members understand that Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages plays a vital strategic role in supporting key Welsh Government priorities and that the proposal to close the school would directly conflict with several core policy commitments.
The Welsh Government’s International Strategy (2020) emphasises the importance of Wales as a globally responsible nation engaged in international trade and cultural exchange. The strategy specifically highlights the need for language and intercultural skills to ensure that people are equipped with the skills to compete in the global economy. The proposed closure would severely hamper such ambitions.
Cymraeg 2050, the national strategy to achieve one million Welsh speakers by 2050, recognises that a multilingual Wales creates positive attitudes towards all languages. The strategy emphasises that Welsh speakers who learn additional languages find it easier to acquire those skills due to their bilingual foundation. Removing degree-level language provision at Cardiff University would undermine this synergistic approach to language learning.
The Welsh Government’s Global Futures strategy sets out a clear vision for a multilingual Wales, aiming to improve and promote modern foreign languages in schools. Cardiff University plays a crucial role in this strategy by providing graduates who are equipped to become the qualified teachers needed to deliver these ambitions. The loss of modern languages provision would create a significant gap in the educational pipeline.
Economic considerations
The economic case for maintaining language provision is also compelling. A 2022 study from the University of Cambridge and the not-for-profit research institute RAND reveals that removing linguistic barriers to trade could be worth an additional £19 billion annually in UK exports. This supports the comments made in the Senedd by Jenny Rathbone MS regarding Wales’s ability to strengthen its international trading partnerships: “We cannot simply arrogantly expect everybody to speak English. If we want to strengthen our relationships with these foreign countries, we absolutely have to have people who can communicate with them in their language.”
In addition, Aston University’s LO-C 30 research on 415 UK SMEs revealed that companies making use of language capabilities are 30% more successful in exporting than those who do not. Failing to invest in language teaching therefore weakens the UK’s opportunity for sustainable economic growth. This point is well made in Languages for the Future, a report published by the British Council in 2017 which states:
“But all should recognise that the UK’s language deficit remains a threat to our overall international competitiveness, influence and standing in the world, as well as to our citizens’ ability to play a meaningful role in the global economy and in an increasingly networked world. We have now reached a critical juncture where investment in upgrading the UK’s language skills, which give unparalleled access to cultural knowledge and understanding, will pay important dividends.”
Furthermore, the proposal risks undermining Wales’s skills and knowledge infrastructure at a critical time. Multiple studies have shown that employers in both public and private sectors place a high premium on graduates’ proven ability to learn languages. The additional skills fostered through language learning, such as improved literacy in the student’s native language as well as increased mental agility, creative originality and problem-solving ability enhance a student’s employability and their economic value to their future workplace. Failure to invest in language learning is therefore a failure to invest in future generations.
Cultural understanding
However, while future growth is clearly important, the broader benefits of language skills extend far beyond immediate economic returns. Language capabilities are essential for cultural exchange, diplomatic relations, and Wales’s ability to project itself as a distinct nation on the global stage. These capabilities are increasingly important as Wales continues to focus on public diplomacy and soft power in its international relations.
This ambition appears to have been recognised in your proposal to create a new School of Global Humanities. There is certainly merit in fostering an international approach, but it is hard to imagine how the concept of global humanities can exist without including provision for learning about languages and cultures. As leading academics have recently argued in an article published on the Times Higher Education website on 5 February, studying global culture uniquely through the medium of English demonstrates an indifference to both linguistic and viewpoint diversity. This is a particularly baffling approach to emerge from a university in a country where linguistic diversity is integral to the national identity and is embedded in every aspect of public life.
Wider impact
It is also important to understand the wider implications of the planned closures as they will inevitably have an adverse impact on other organisations. To offer one example: since 2015, the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Mentoring scheme, led by Cardiff University in partnership with eight other Welsh universities, has successfully promoted language learning in secondary schools across Wales. The programme has reached thousands of pupils and demonstrated measurable success in increasing uptake of languages at GCSE level. The proposed cuts threaten the continuation of this vital initiative.
Conclusion
While we recognise, and sincerely regret, the financial pressures facing the higher education sector, we strongly urge the university to consider the many benefits of maintaining modern languages and translation provision. Given Cardiff University’s position as Wales’s leading higher education institution, we believe that you have a particular responsibility to maintain educational provision in areas of strategic national importance. We therefore encourage you to take this opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate these essential programmes rather than eliminate them.
The future economic and cultural success of Wales depends significantly on the ability to engage effectively with the wider world, and this requires maintaining and developing language and translation capabilities. We therefore call upon Cardiff University to reconsider these far-reaching proposals and to work with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders to find a sustainable solution.
Yours sincerely
Sara Robertson FRSA FIIC
Chief Executive, Institute of Translation and Interpreting
