Cutting language courses will be a costly mistake | Letters

Sara Robertson, Raisa McNab and John Worne fear that Britain risks becoming a monolingual island in a multilingual world. Plus letters from Dr Darren Paffey, Janet Fraser and Ilona Marchant

News that the University of Exeter is planning to cut 150 jobs (Fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts, 1 July), with a disproportionate threat to the teaching of humanities, is only the latest in a series of blows to the teaching of modern languages in the UK.

When universities close language departments, they reduce the pipeline of teachers, which further reduces school provision, leading to fewer students being able to study languages at university. Plus, regional closures disproportionately affect students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are more likely to study locally.