Date Time Cultivating ‘multilingual identities’ in schools could help reverse national crisis in language-learning More young people may choose to study foreign languages to GCSE if they are encouraged to ‘identify’ with languages at school, rather than just learning vocabulary and grammar, new research suggests. We are missing an opportunity to teach children about languages, as well as how to speak and write them Karen Forbes The University of Cambridge study found that pupils who learn about the value of languages, how languages shape personal identity, and their impact on social cohesion, feel much more positive about subjects like French, German and Spanish; compared with those who only learn the speaking and writing skills prescribed by the national curriculum.