There has been a big leap in the number of primary schools teaching children foreign languages.
Minister for Schools and Learners Jim Knight welcomed news that 84% of primary schools now teach children another language, up from 70% on the previous year and nearly double the 44% in 2002.
Research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) published today shows that traditional languages dominate, with French being most popular (89% of schools which teach languages) followed by Spanish (23%) and German (9%). But a small number (under 3%) offer Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Urdu.
Lord Dearing in his major review of languages in 2007 recommended that languages become a statutory part of the primary curriculum, building on the existing entitlement for all primary pupils to learn a language in class time by 2010.
He wanted to make languages compulsory in primary schools so that all pupils learn languages for a minimum of seven years. He believed that learning languages earlier will inspire children with a love of languages and motivate them to continue learning languages post-14.
