Abstract
This paper summarises the findings of a research project at a British university exploring autistic students studying modern foreign languages (MFL). The project investigates the experiences, motivations, learning strategies and preferences of autistic MFL learners in a Higher Education context to better understand how MFL classroom pedagogy can be designed more inclusively. This interdisciplinary study combines pedagogic, clinical linguistic and anthropological perspectives. This study, which is based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups, suggests that specific types of language classroom settings, activities and linguistic content disadvantage autistic learners. While autistic students appreciated approaches that supported their individual learning preferences, certain routine aspects of established MFL pedagogy—such as spontaneous improvisation in a target language—increased anxiety and led to declared non-attendance. Drawing on these findings, we provide recommendations to prevent or mitigate their impact. A concise bulleted guidance on autism-friendly language teaching for the reference of MFL educators is available from DCAD (2025), https://dcad-resourcebank.webspace.durham.ac.uk/2025/05/12/autism-inclusive-teaching-of-foreign-languages-in-higher-education/.