Mastering more than one language is an advantage that not only expands one’s perspective by allowing a glimpse into another culture, but also creates future opportunities in the workplace. Schools and educational institutions are one of the first linguistic playing fields to acquire this skill.
In 2022, 6.5% of primary school students in the European Union (EU) were learning two or more foreign languages. Luxembourg stood out as the only EU country where the majority of primary students (79.6%) were learning two or more foreign languages, a significantly higher number than in the rest of the countries. Latvia (37.2%), Greece (34.9%), and Estonia (33.6%) followed suit.
Between 2013 and 2022, the proportion of primary school students in the EU learning at least two foreign languages increased from 4.6% to 6.5%. Data shows that in 18 EU countries, the proportions increased, albeit modestly. The highest increases were recorded in Latvia (+22.3 percentage points), Finland (+14.9 pp), Spain (+9.2 pp), and Greece (+9.0 pp), while in the remaining countries they did not exceed 4.7 pp.
In the 9 EU countries where the proportion decreased, Poland (-6.8 pp) and Luxembourg (-4.2 pp) reported the most significant declines.
At the lower secondary education level, in 2022, 60.7% of students were learning two or more foreign languages. In Finland, this figure reached 98.0% of students, the highest proportion among EU countries. Italy, Greece, Malta, Estonia, Romania, Luxembourg, and Portugal also reported high proportions ranging from 96.6% to 92.9%. The lowest proportions were observed in Ireland (6.1%), Hungary (6.6%), and Austria (7.7%).
Compared to 2013, the proportion of lower secondary education students in the EU learning at least two foreign languages increased to 60.7% in 2022, from 58.4%.
This proportion increased in 11 EU countries, with Czechia (+24.1 pp), France (+21.8 pp), and Belgium (+18.5 pp) recording the largest increases. On the other hand, in 16 EU countries, the proportion of lower secondary education students learning at least two foreign languages decreased. The decreases range from -31.8 pp in Slovenia, -31.7 pp in Poland, and -26.9 pp in Slovakia, to -0.3 pp in Finland, -0.9 pp in Malta, and -1.1 pp in Estonia and Romania.
This article is published on the occasion of the European Day of Languages, which this year has as its theme “Languages for Peace.”
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish