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60 pct of EU's lower secondary pupils studied more than one foreign language in 2014

Xinhua, February 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Around 18 million lower secondary school pupils studied at least one foreign language in the European Union (EU) in 2014, while nearly 11 million, or nearly 60 percent of all pupils at this level, were studying two foreign languages or more, according to a report issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU on Monday.

In specific, all or nearly all lower secondary school pupils learnt at least two foreign languages in Luxembourg, Finland, Italy, Estonia and Romania in 2014.

In contrast, fewer than 10 percent of pupils were studying two or more languages in Hungary, Ireland and Austria.

English was by far the most popular language at lower secondary level, studied by more than 17 million pupils. French came second, followed by German and Spanish.

In particular, all pupils attend English classes in Denmark, Spain, Italy, Malta and Sweden.

French is one of the two main foreign languages studied in Luxembourg and is also the top foreign language studied in Ireland and Belgium.

Currently, there are 24 official languages recognized within the EU. In addition, there are regional languages, minority languages, and languages spoken by migrant populations.

Moreover, several EU member states have more than one official language. Endit