Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012

Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 - Date of publication: 20 September 2012
This new Eurydice report traces the context and organisation of foreign language teaching, student participation levels, as well as the initial and continuing education of foreign language teachers. Download Key Data on Teaching Languages at School and Highlights of Key Data on Teaching Languages at School.
Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 provides a complete picture of the language teaching systems in place in 32 European countries. More precisely, the report combines statistical data with qualitative information to describe the context and organisation of foreign language teaching, student participation levels as well as the initial and continuing education of foreign language teachers. In addition to giving a snapshot of the situation today, the report also presents several time series which are particularly helpful in identifying trends in language teaching over recent years and past decades.
The 61 indicators contained in the report are mainly drawn from four distinct sources: Eurydice, Eurostat, the European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC), and the OECD's PISA 2009 international survey. By combining these sources, Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 provides comprehensive information that can serve to improve the quality and efficiency of language learning across Europe. Improving language learning has not only become one of the key objectives of the strategic framework for Education and Training (ET 2020), but also a means to facilitate cross-border mobility of EU citizens as highlighted in the European Union's overall strategy – 'Europe 2020'.
Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 is a joint Eurydice/Eurostat publication and has been produced in close cooperation with the European Commission. Reference years and country coverage of the report depend on the data source. Eurydice data cover all countries of the European Union as well as countries of the European Economic Area, Croatia, and Turkey, and take the reference year 2010/11. Eurydice indicators mainly provide insight into the policies and recommendations in place in European countries which influence foreign language teaching. Key Data indicators derived from the ESLC 2011 survey cover 15 education systems. Eurostat has the same country coverage as Eurydice, but its data take the reference year 2009/10.
This leaflet provides a glance of some of the report's key findings.
What is Eurydice
The Eurydice Network provides information on and analyses of European education systems and policies. As of 2011, it consists of 38 national units based in all 34 countries participating in the EU's Lifelong Learning programme (EU Member States, EFTA countries, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey) and is coordinated and managed by the EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels, which drafts its publications and databases...
ENGLISH IS BY FAR THE DOMINATING FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN EUROPE
English is by far the most taught foreign language in nearly all countries, starting at primary level. Trends since 2004/05 show an increase in the percentage of students learning English at all educational levels. In 2009/10, on average, 73% of students enrolled in primary education in the EU were learning English.
In lower secondary and general upper secondary education, the percentage exceeded 90%. In upper secondary prevocational and vocational education, it reached 74.9%. Overall, English is a mandatory language in 14 countries or regions within countries.
In most countries, English is followed by either German or French as the second most widely taught foreign language. Spanish occupies the position of the third or fourth most widely taught foreign language in a significant number of countries, especially at upper secondary level.
The same goes for Italian but in a smaller number of countries. Russian is the second most widely taught foreign language in Latvia and Lithuania where large communities of Russian speakers live, and also in Bulgaria in lower secondary education.
VERY FEW STUDENTS LEARN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH, GERMAN OR RUSSIAN
In 2009/10, the percentage of students learning languages other than English, French, Spanish, German or Russian was below 5% in most countries, and in a significant number the percentage was less than 1%.
The countries with the highest percentages of students learning a language other than the main five were those where the alternative language was a mandatory language. These included Swedish or Finnish in Finland and Danish in Iceland...
THE COMMON EUROPEAN REFERENCE FRAMEWORK (CEFR) IS BECOMING A MAIN TOOL FOR DEFINING STUDENT ATTAINEMENT LEVELS
In the majority of European countries, official guidelines for language teaching fix minimum attainment levels for both the first and the second foreign languages. These levels correspond to the six proficiency levels defined by the Common European Framework of Reference published by the Council of Europe in 2001.
The CEFR defines six levels of proficiency (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), where A corresponds to basic user, B to independent user and C to proficient user. At the end of compulsory general education, official guidelines in most countries set the minimum level between A2 and B1 for the first foreign language and between A1 and B1 for the second...Download Key Data on Teaching Languages at School.