The aftermath of Brexit and the difficulty of new GCSE and A-level exams have combined to put off young people from studying modern foreign languages (MFL) at school, according to a new report by the British Council.

While more than two-thirds of teachers surveyed by the British Council said the difficulty of the exams was causing concern, one in four said Brexit had “cast a pall” over pupils learning any foreign languages, with some parents actively discouraging their children.

Teachers told researchers that they have seen a shift in attitudes since the Brexit referendum, with one reporting: “We have had parents mention that they do not believe their son or daughter should be studying a language as it is little to no use to them now that we are leaving the European Union.”

Another teacher noted comments from pupils, “obviously heard at home, such as now we’ve left/are leaving the EU you won’t need this any more”.

The annual report by the British Council on trends in language teaching in England also found a decline in schools taking part in cross-border activities including student exchanges or overseas trips, with schools blaming funding pressures, Brexit uncertainty and safeguarding concerns.

School leaders warned that the country was in danger of becoming monolinguistic, with the report finding that children from disadvantaged families and pupils with lower academic results were much less likely to take up languages than their better-off classmates.

Vicky Gough, the schools adviser at the British Council, said: “Everyone should have the chance to learn a language but teachers report that many pupils – particularly the most disadvantaged – are being put off by the difficulty of exams and a sense that languages just aren’t for them.

“Coupled with a decline in the international experiences offered at primary and secondary schools, these findings paint an alarming picture.”

The survey of 1,500 state schools found that disadvantaged pupils were far less likely than their peers to study languages at GCSE, but also revealed that the revisions to exam content introduced over the past three years had a bigger impact on lower attaining pupils. More than 80% of state school teachers said their pupils were now less likely to take modern foreign languages than previously.

One teacher told the British Council: “New GCSE is too demanding for lower attaining pupils. They are dissuaded as it is too challenging - even at foundation - and not seen as relevant for them.”

Teresa Tinsley, the report’s lead researcher, said the results suggested that language learning in England’s schools was becoming increasingly segregated along socio-economic and academic lines.

“Pupils from poorer backgrounds and those who are less academically inclined are much less likely than their peers to acquire any substantial language skills or access foreign cultures in any significant way, challenges that Brexit looks to exacerbate,” she said.

“We all know the pressures schools are under, but these inequalities are not good for our society or the future of our country.”

But the harder exams were just one factor in the decline in pupils taking modern foreign languages since 2014, with a 19% decline overall in GCSE entries, including 30% falls in French and German and further falls in the numbers taking French, German and Spanish at A-level.

Teachers have long complained about the perceived difficulty of gaining high marks in modern foreign languages, especially at A-level, with concerns that results are skewed by the current grading system putting non-native speakers at a disadvantage.

The report found that “very few” state secondary schools allowed pupils to study a language other than French, German or Spanish. In state primary schools, language teaching is often “ad hoc and minimal,” it said. “Languages are often seen as lower priority than other subjects and may be pushed out of the timetable, for example during Sats exams in year six,” it noted.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are in danger of becoming a monolinguistic country unless we do something to rejuvenate the love and learning of languages.

“Schools are also struggling with a severe shortage of language teachers and Brexit could worsen this situation because many of our language teachers come from EU countries.”

Ofqual, the exams regulator for England, said it was already conducting a review of grading in GCSE French, German and Spanish. “We take seriously concerns about the perceived difficulty of MFL subjects and continue to look at this issue in detail,” a spokesperson said.