- Demand for language tuition climbs as summer holidays approach
- Spanish tops the list, followed by French – mirroring top travel hotspots
- Language tutor demand in summer more than doubles compared to winter months
As the academic year winds down, FindTutors – the UK-based tutoring platform by GoStudent – has reported a marked rise in demand for language tuition, with more families turning to tutors to help sharpen their Spanish, French, and other language skills ahead of summer getaways.
Internal data from the platform suggests that as schools break up, parents and students are increasingly prioritising language learning. While language-related enquiries typically account for around 15% of tutoring requests during the colder months, that figure more than doubles across June, July and August.
Many students appear to be motivated by their upcoming travel plans. Spanish, which leads with 45% of all language tuition requests, also happens to be the UK’s most popular holiday destination. French comes in second, both in terms of language learning demand (32%) and tourist traffic.
According to FindTutors, the breakdown of summer language tutor demand is as follows:
- Spanish – 45%
- French – 32%
- German – 13%
- Italian – 9%
However, this seasonal spike stands in contrast to a broader long-term decline in language education. A 2023 British Council study revealed that only 20% of Year 7 students anticipated taking a language GCSE, with many questioning the career value of learning a second language.
Albert Clemente, CEO at FindTutors, comments:
“Learning a language is one of the most rewarding things you can do, whether for work or just for an upcoming trip. There’s nothing better than finding you can connect with someone in their language, and even a few basic phrases can be incredibly useful when visiting somewhere new.”
He continues:
“Kids have a remarkable ability to learn languages but with the rise of AI and automatic translation tools, these skills seem to be falling down the priority list. Now is a great time to try to reverse this trend, and this summer represents a fantastic chance to learn a language, enhancing not only career prospects but undoubtedly overall quality of life too.”
Clemente adds:
“The data shows that when thinking about which language to learn it’s often easiest to go with the one that you are likely to need in the short term. As immersion is one of the best ways to passively learn a language, this exposure can turn lessons into a lifelong skill. FindTutors helps thousands of students every month to discover their passion for languages and also get a head start on the return to school in September.”