30+ years in a very technical field here and I have used my languages (all of which GCSE level or worse) at work.
It gives you that extra dimension, whether it’s putting doubt in a colleague’s mind about how much you know so they stop having HUGELY LOUD phonecalls in their native language with their sister in Manchester, whether it’s skimming through case notes and noticing some basic “does it do X if you switch Y on?” has been translated as “Does it do X if you switch Y *off*?”, whether it’s buttering up a team that owes you nothing by giving their language a go even if it’s v v basic stuff like, “Is Bert in the office? We’ve got a meeting now…Can you tell him? Thanks!” Or having the confidence to look after yourself at a conference abroad.
I also used what I’d learned on actual product related stuff, like noticing that a translation looks off, or understanding why there’s an issue translating a form layout, or understanding you can’t (e.g) lower-case a Japanese character and you certainly can’t lowercase the first half of one!
Whether the GCSE as such is needed absolutely to get on a course – probably not though.
However. I’ve personally used my rubbish foreign language abilities much more than any of my technical qualifications, even maths A level. It doesn’t really date and with a bit of buffing it’s surprising how much can come back even after decades.
So I’d say, consider the two things separately. If she’s not keen on the GCSE, after due consideration, then fair enough but bribe her to teach herself the language of her choice on her own time.
Remember it’s not just “speaking French” (say), it’s learning *how” to learn a foreign language, learning how language itself *works*, finding out how language and culture intertwine (important for business etiquette…).
I kind of think a well rounded education needs it.
