Eurostat News Release: European Day of Languages: English, French and German still most common foreign languages studied at lower secondary level in the EU28 in 2012…
… but Spanish learning has increased more
In the EU28 in 2012, English was still the most commonly studied foreign language at lower secondary level, with 96.7% of pupils learning it, far ahead of French (34.1%), German (22.1%) and Spanish (12.2%). The importance of English as a foreign language in the EU is also confirmed by its leadership in nearly all Member-States.
Since Croatia’s accession, there are 24 official languages recognised within the EU. In addition there are indigenous regional, minority languages and languages that have been brought into the EU by migrant populations.
On the occasion of the European Day of Languages, celebrated each year on 26 September, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes data on language learning at school. The general objectives of this event are to alert the public to the importance of language earning, to promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe and to encourage lifelong language earning in and out of school.
More and more pupils learn Spanish at lower secondary level in the EU
The proportions of pupils at lower secondary level studying English, French, German or Spanish as a foreign language have each increased between 2005 and 2012 at the EU level, albeit in different ways. The most remarkable increase in relative terms during this period was recorded for the learning of Spanish, from 7.4%of the total pupils at lower secondary level learning it in 2005 to 12.2% in 2012.
