ABSTRACT Low participation in language learning in secondary education is a topic which continues to exercise education policy-makers in England and other anglophone contexts. One instance of an attempt to increase take-up can be found in the introduction of the EBacc, a performance measure which requires the majority of young people to study a language as part of a combination of ‘core academic subjects’. This paper draws on longitudinal case-study research and adopts a policy enactment lens to consider the impact of the performance measure on participation in language learning. The findings suggest that an attempt to increase take-up through the EBacc, tied to high-stakes testing, is problematic. While the EBacc places renewed emphasis on languages in the 14-16 curriculum the research illustrates how competing policy requirements have, in some cases, perpetuated and exacerbated inequalities rather than leading to a democratisation of language learning. I conclude that there is still much to be done to raise confidence in languages education in English schools, and that the interrelated tensions and contradictions made transparent in this research need to be addressed at national and regional levels, as well as locally to secure participation for all young people in a meaningful and inclusive languages education.

中文翻译：

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英语学士学位（EBacc）是否有助于参加英格兰中学的语言学习？

摘要中学教育中对语言学习的低参与是继续在英格兰和其他英语国家的教育政策制定者中使用的话题。尝试增加学习量的一个例子是EBacc的引入，这是一项绩效衡量标准，要求大多数年轻人学习语言，这是“核心学术学科”组合的一部分。本文采用纵向案例研究，并采用政策制定的角度来考虑绩效指标对语言学习参与的影响。研究结果表明，与高风险测试相关的试图通过EBacc增加学习量是有问题的。尽管EBacc在14-16课程中重新强调了语言，但这项研究说明了竞争政策的要求如何，在某些情况下，不平等现象会长期存在并加剧，而不是导致语言学习民主化。我的结论是，要提高人们对英语学校语言教育的信心，还有许多工作要做，而且在本研究中透明化的相互关联的紧张局势和矛盾需要在国家和地区以及地方层面解决，以确保参与对所有年轻人进行有意义且包容的语言教育。