This article "One country, on language" notes:
The European Commission wants to improve young Europeans’ grasp of foreign languages. However, EU member states find it difficult to implement concrete measures.
“Every citizen should have a good command of two foreign languages together with their mother tongue,” claims the action plan for language teaching presented by the European Commission two years ago. This is a requirement for all citizens who want to live and work in Europe.
However, only a few EU member states come close to this aim – many school children don’t even speak a single foreign language.
The articles reviews foreign languages teaching in Germany, France, Spain, Czech Republic and Denmark. Denmark has the most multilingual population.
In fact, 77% of the Danish population speak at least one foreign language, according to the European Commission. And surprisingly Danish school children don’t begin learning a foreign language until they are nine years old. According to their school system, it is compulsory to learn two foreign languages and optional to learn a third. German and French are offered as second languages and German is the most commonly chosen. Most Danish pupils then choose Spanish as their third.
Young Danes are so good at learning foreign languages for two reasons: they are encouraged to speak in lessons and many spend a school year in an English or French speaking country. In short, Danish school children are the best examples of multilingual Europeans.
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