Becoming a modern foreign languages teacher

To teach modern foreign languages (MFL) in an English state school you need a degree and qualified teacher status (QTS). Your degree does not have to be in languages: native and fluent speakers with a degree in another subject are regularly accepted onto training courses. Languages are a priority subject, so trainees starting in 2026/27 can get a £20,000 bursary, or a £22,000 scholarship for French, German or Spanish.

Which languages schools want

French and Spanish are the most widely taught languages in English secondary schools, with German some way behind. Some schools teach Mandarin, Italian, Urdu, Arabic, Polish or other languages, but posts in those are fewer and often combined with a mainstream language.

Most MFL job adverts ask for two languages, or one main language and the ability to teach another to Key Stage 3. If you offer only one, it helps a great deal if it is French or Spanish. Training providers may ask you to build up a second language before or during training, usually through a subject knowledge enhancement course.

Routes for different backgrounds

With a languages degree

A degree in French, Spanish, German or modern languages leads straight onto a PGCE, SCITT or School Direct course, or a salaried route. Your year abroad will help both your application and your teaching.

As a native or fluent speaker

If your first language is one taught in schools and you have a degree in any subject, providers will look at your spoken and written accuracy, your understanding of grammar from a learner’s point of view, and your English. You will be teaching the language to beginners in English, so explaining how the language works matters more than fluency alone. Many successful MFL teachers in England trained this way.

As a teacher already qualified abroad

Teachers who qualified outside the UK can apply to the Department for Education for QTS without retraining, provided their qualification and experience meet the department’s requirements. The QTS guide explains what the department checks. If you need a visa, a teaching post on a national pay scale can qualify for the Skilled Worker route with a salary of at least £25,000 or the pay scale rate if higher. The Skilled Worker visa guide for teachers covers sponsorship and right to work.

Funding in 2026/27

For postgraduate trainees on fee-funded courses in England:

Language	Bursary	Scholarship
French, German, Spanish	£20,000	£22,000
Other modern languages	£20,000	None listed
Ancient languages	£20,000	None listed

You take a bursary or a scholarship, not both. Salaried trainees do not get either, but the school receives a grant of the same amount. Eligibility depends on your degree class or relevant experience and on nationality and residency rules, which teacher training bursaries sets out.

What the job involves

MFL teachers in England teach Key Stage 3 classes and GCSE groups, plus A level in some schools. The current GCSE specifications for languages are built around a defined list of vocabulary and grammar, with more emphasis on phonics, dictation and reading aloud than older courses had. Expect to teach a lot of grammar explicitly.

The job has some particular pressures. Take-up at GCSE is lower than in many subjects, so departments can be small and sometimes under pressure to recruit students onto courses. Speaking exams take time to organise and conduct one to one. Trips and exchanges are popular but involve a lot of planning and responsibility.

Pay

Qualified teachers in maintained schools in England are paid under the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. From 1 September 2026, after a 3.5 per cent award, the main pay range runs from £34,069 at M1 to £46,940 at M6 outside London, with higher figures in the fringe and London. A head of languages usually receives a TLR, with TLR2 values of £3,651 to £8,913. The new rates are in the draft 2026 pay document, expected to be finalised around early November 2026. Full scales are on teacher pay scales in England.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own training systems and pay arrangements. In Wales and Northern Ireland the international languages taught in schools differ slightly, and Welsh-medium schools may expect Welsh as well.

Keeping your languages up

Teaching beginners all day can leave your own language rusty, especially at the more advanced end. Many MFL teachers keep it up through trips abroad, reading and media in the language, and courses run by cultural institutes. If you lead exchanges or residential trips, you will need to plan for risk assessments, parental consent and supervision ratios, and the school will expect you to give up some holiday time. For many students, a trip is the first time they hear the language used for real outside the classroom.

Before you apply

Arrange time in an MFL department, ideally seeing lessons at different levels. Brush up on grammar terminology in English as well as the target language, since interviews often include a short task on explaining a grammar point. Applications in England go through the DfE’s Apply for teacher training service, and scholarship applications have their own deadlines.