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MEMO/08/731
Brussels, 21 November 2008
Growing trend in teaching languages at schools in
Europe: pupils learn foreign languages from an
earlier age
This second edition of Key Data on Teaching Languages at school in Europe
produced by the Eurydice network gives a detailed picture of the language teaching
systems in place in the schools of all 31 countries participating in the EU Lifelong
Learning programme: 27 Member States, Lichtenstein, Norway and Iceland, as
members of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Turkey. It covers aspects
ranging from foreign language learning at a very early age, the variety of languages
learnt, the taught time at various education levels, the proportion of language
learners at each level, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) to the training
of teachers of foreign languages from primary to secondary general education.
It is the outcome of close collaboration between the Eurydice European unit, the
Eurydice National Units and Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European
Communities. As a result of this collaboration, it has been possible to inter-relate
reliable information from different sources in a way that offers original and
illuminating insights into language teaching in schools. Around 40 indicators have
been used to describe the situation of teaching languages in Europe.
The data in the report relates to the school year 2006-2007 and covers the general
education sector (public sector schools and grant-aided private ones). Some issues
have been monitored by Eurydice since 1984 which gives an interesting historical
perspective on trends regarding teaching languages. In addition, some information
from the PISA 2006 international survey was used to go deeper into the reality of
multilingualism at home and in schools.
The main findings of the study are:
1) Teaching of foreign languages starts earlier but taught time remains
limited in primary education
Earlier learning of a foreign language as a compulsory subject has become a clearly
visible trend across Europe in the course of the last three decades as shown by the
figure below. In almost all European countries, compulsory learning of a foreign
language now begins in primary education. Several countries include at least one
foreign language from the first or second year of compulsory primary education (Italy,
Luxembourg, Austria, France, Norway, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Estonia, Finland and
Sweden). In some cases, there is even an earlier start: in all autonomous
communities of Spain children learn a foreign language from the age of 3 and the
German-speaking community in Belgium also applies that rule. Other countries
generally start later (8-10 years old). Thanks to such reforms, the percentage of
pupils in primary education learning at least one foreign language has risen almost
everywhere in recent years.
Duration of compulsory first foreign language teaching in pre-primary, primary and
general secondary education (1984, 1994, 2003 and 2007)
Ages
Ages
1984
1994
2003
A foreign language is being phased in
2007
No compulsory foreign language teaching
Belgium (BE fr): (a) Brussels wherever the language of instruction is French, and (b) French-speaking part of
Wallonia.
Belgium (BE nl): (a) Brussels wherever the language of instruction is Dutch, and (b) Flanders.
Source: Eurydice (figure B3).
However, even if foreign language teaching is becoming a general practice, the time
devoted remains limited (in general less than 10% of the total taught time) and varies
considerably between countries, from under 5% to 39%. The amount of time spent
on language learning is generally greater in lower secondary education than in
primary schools.
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Minimum hours recommended for teaching foreign languages as a compulsory
subject in primary and full-time compulsory general secondary education, 2006/07
Primary Education

Lower secondary education
No foreign languages as a compulsory subject
Total
 Compulsory subject with flexible time
Belgium (BE de): a) Public-sector schools b) grant-aided private schools.
Czech Republic: a) Základní škola (former system); b) Základní škola (new system); c) Základní +
Gymnázium (former system).
Germany: a) Hauptschule; b) Realschule; c) Gymnasium.
Luxembourg: a) ‘classical’ section; b) ‘modern’ section.
Malta: a) Junior Lyceum, b) Secondary schools
Netherlands: a) VMBO; b) HAVO; c) VWO.
Austria: a) Hauptschule and Polytechnische Schule; b) Realgymnasium
Romania: a) Gimnaziu + Liceu; b) Gimnaziu + Şcoala de arte şi meserii.
Liechtenstein: a) Oberschule; b) Realschule; c) Gymnasium.
Source: Eurydice (figure E3)
2) Encouraging trend towards teaching two foreign languages at school
In 2006-2007, compulsory teaching of a foreign language at school for at least one
year was a reality in all the countries involved, except Ireland and Scotland (United
Kingdom). In the majority of countries, over half of the pupils in primary education
learn at least one foreign language. In lower secondary education, 58% of pupils
across Europe learn two or more languages. This is encouraging in the context of
the goal of improving "the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least
two foreign languages from a very early age" set by the Barcelona European Council
in 2002 (most notably, the Czech Republic and Italy have introduced reforms since
2005 and now comply with that goal).
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The teaching of two foreign languages in pre-primary, primary and general
secondary education, 2006/07
A minimum of two foreign languages:
Compulsory for all
An entitlement for all
For at least one year
of Full-Time
Compulsory
Education (FTCE)
Compulsory or an
entitlement for all
Solely after FTCE
Compulsory or an
entitlement for some
During and/or after
FTCE
Source: Eurydice (Figure B4).
Average number of foreign languages learnt per pupil,
lower and upper general secondary education (2005/06)
Lower general secondary education
Upper general secondary education
: data not available
Source: Eurostat, UOE (figure C6).
3) English taught to over 90% of pupils across Europe at some stage of their
education
In 13 European countries, English is the mandatory first foreign language. Even
when a choice of other languages is provided, pupils and their parents tend to favour
English, which is now the most widely taught language in primary education. In the
past five years, English teaching in primary education has increased by over 20
percentage points in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal, doubled in
Bulgaria and Greece and tripled in Germany.
4
Percentage of pupils learning English, primary education (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and
2006)
(:) data not available
(-) not applicable or nought
Source: Eurostat (figure C5)
English is even more dominant at secondary level and is learnt on average by 90%
of all European pupils at some stage of their compulsory education. When a second
foreign language is taught, it is usually French or German. In some countries,
depending on the national context, other languages prevail: Spanish (France and
Sweden), Italian (Malta), Danish (Iceland), Dutch (French-speaking community of
Belgium), Swedish (Finland) or Russian (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
4) Few countries recommend mobility as part of teacher education
Whilst language learning is becoming a common feature in school education across
Europe, it is often provided in primary education by general teachers. In secondary
education, the degree of specialisation of teachers varies greatly from country to
country. Education authorities in the majority of countries covered recommend that
teachers' education include courses or activities enabling future teachers to teach
foreign languages. At present, mobility is the exception rather than the rule: countries
recommending a period of training abroad for future language teachers include
Germany, United Kingdom, Norway, Austria, France, Ireland, Bulgaria and the
German-speaking community of Belgium.
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The full report Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe is available on
the Eurydice and the Executive Agency websites
- In English
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/showPresentation?pubid=095EN
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/eurydice/index_en.htm
- In French
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/showPresentation?pubid=095FR
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/eurydice/index_fr.htm
Printed copies of the report in English and French will be available from January
2009. The German translation will be available shortly afterwards.
This study is part of the Eurydice Key data series: a body of concise clear
information, in the form of textual commentary combined with an extensive set of
data figures.
Other key documents of interest:
- European Commission Communication on Multilingualism: an asset for Europe
and a shared commitment (18 September 2008)
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/news/news2853_en.htm
- Council resolution on a European Strategy for multilingualism (21 November
2008)
Background information on the Eurydice network
The Eurydice network supports and facilitates European cooperation and the
development and implementation of national policies in education by providing
information on and analyses of European education systems and policies. It consists
of 35 national units based in all 31 countries participating in the EU Lifelong Learning
programme. A central coordinating unit is based in the EU Education, Audiovisual
and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels. It produces regular studies on various
aspects of European education systems and provides detailed descriptions of the
systems in each participating country.
http://www.Eurydice.org
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