Popular Languages
A popular language is defined as one that is offered in pretty much every school that offers a foreign language. Most schools offer a choice of two out of the three popular languages, although many will offer a choice of all three at GCSE level. French, German and Spanish - the three in this category - are the most popular languages taken by British pupils.
French
French is the most common language for a pupil to learn at any level. In the year 2004, 320,818 pupils entered at GCSE level and 35,753 at A Level (20,580 at AS and 15,173 at A2). There are a number of reasons for it being popular; firstly, France is the most popular holiday destination for British tourists. As well as this, relations between France and Britain are always developing; although many French people speak English, there is always a demand for bilingual English and French speakers in industry. French is also one of the most popular languages for carrying on to degree level; in 2003, there were 21,255 students studying French is any combination (ie by itself, with another language or as part of another course). French is offered in most schools around the country; it is often chosen by pupils as the only language they carry on to GCSE study.
German
German is the second commonest MFL offered for school pupils, alongside French. Though it may be less popular than French, it still attracted 90,311 to take it at GCSE level in 2006. Part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, it is spoken by approximately 110 million native speakers and 18 million non-native speakers in the world and is an important business language.
Spanish
Spoken by around 400 million people, the distribution of the Spanish language is widely spread, ranging from Europe to South America. In 2007, 63978 students took GCSE Spanish, and the majority of students gained a grade C (20.7%).
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Modern_Foreign_Languages
A popular language is defined as one that is offered in pretty much every school that offers a foreign language. Most schools offer a choice of two out of the three popular languages, although many will offer a choice of all three at GCSE level. French, German and Spanish - the three in this category - are the most popular languages taken by British pupils.
French
French is the most common language for a pupil to learn at any level. In the year 2004, 320,818 pupils entered at GCSE level and 35,753 at A Level (20,580 at AS and 15,173 at A2). There are a number of reasons for it being popular; firstly, France is the most popular holiday destination for British tourists. As well as this, relations between France and Britain are always developing; although many French people speak English, there is always a demand for bilingual English and French speakers in industry. French is also one of the most popular languages for carrying on to degree level; in 2003, there were 21,255 students studying French is any combination (ie by itself, with another language or as part of another course). French is offered in most schools around the country; it is often chosen by pupils as the only language they carry on to GCSE study.
German
German is the second commonest MFL offered for school pupils, alongside French. Though it may be less popular than French, it still attracted 90,311 to take it at GCSE level in 2006. Part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, it is spoken by approximately 110 million native speakers and 18 million non-native speakers in the world and is an important business language.
Spanish
Spoken by around 400 million people, the distribution of the Spanish language is widely spread, ranging from Europe to South America. In 2007, 63978 students took GCSE Spanish, and the majority of students gained a grade C (20.7%).
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Modern_Foreign_Languages