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Learning modern foreign languages in the European Union : focus on students / Yann Fournier, Anne Gaudry-Lachet
Publication de la DEPP / Note d'information MEN
Edité par Ministère de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur, de la recherche et de l'innovation. Paris - 2017
The European Strategic Framework, Education and Training 2020, emphasises the need for European Union member countries to promote multilingualism, particularly by fostering the teaching of at least two foreign languages from the earliest possible age. The fourth edition of the Eurydice Report, Key Data on Teaching Languages
at School in Europe (2017) offers a comparative look at the evolution of systems and practices for teaching foreign languages in 37 European countries since 2003.
The trend towards earlier learning of a first foreign language is continuing. In the European Union in 2015 this learning began on average at the age of 7. In 2014, 84% of primary-school students were learning a foreign language; the figure was only 69% in 2005.
When a second compulsory foreign language is taught, it is usually introduced in the first cycle of secondary education. In 2014, 60% of the students in this cycle were studying two languages.
In 2014, although English remained the most taught foreign language in the EU, French maintained its place as the second language most frequently chosen by students, followed by German and Spanish.
Lastly, in 2015 the relative proportion of time devoted to teaching foreign languages was clearly higher in secondary education.