OVER 90 percent of European students learn English at some stage of their compulsory education and this figure is rising, according to a study presented by the Eurydice network, an information network on education in Europe, on behalf of the European Commission. The report also finds that children in the European Union (EU) are learning foreign languages at an earlier age, the European Voice has reported.
The study, entitled "Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe", reveals that in 13 EU countries, English is the mandatory first foreign language. The increase in the use of English is particularly marked in primary schools. In Germany, the number of children who learn English before the age of 11 has tripled in the past five years. In Bulgaria, the number has doubled. The use of English in secondary schools is growing most significantly in Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as in Portugal. Moreover, some 90 percent of students in upper secondary education learn English whether it is compulsory to do so or not.
French and German are the most prevalent second compulsory languages, finds the report, while 58 percent of European pupils learn two or more foreign languages during their secondary education. Together, English, French, German, Spanish and Russian represent 95 percent of all languages learnt by European pupils.
According to the study, early learning of a foreign language as a compulsory subject has increased over the past three decades. Compulsory learning of a foreign language now begins in primary education in almost all European countries. On average, European children begin to learn a foreign language from the age of 8 to 10. In some cases, there is even an earlier start.
The study "is not a performance ranking, but a study of what member states are doing in the area of language teaching," explained Eurydice Director David Hughes. "It provides comparable data to help national governments reform their education systems."
