The line graph illustrates data on the proportion of New Zealand Primary school students learning different types of languages—French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, and ‘others’—as a second language over an 8-year period, commencing from 2006.
In general, the percentage of students learning Spanish, Chinese, and ‘others’ increased markedly throughout the period, albeit to varying degrees. By contrast, the proportion of students learning Japanese and German decreased slightly over time. It is also worth noting that the figure for French experienced fluctuations over the span, and maintained its dominant position in 2014.
Considering upward trends first, the proportion of Chinese learners was the lowest at around 4% in 2006, which was approximately 3 percentage points lower than that of ‘others. Following this, the proportion of students learning Chinese increased notably to about 13% by the end of the period, albeit with some fluctuations. Meanwhile, the figure for ‘others’ rose, reaching its peak in 2013 at roughly 13% prior to a slight decline to approximately 7% in 2014. Similarly, the proportion of students studying Spanish grew from around 21% to 25% in 2011; however, it ended the period at around 23% in 2014.
In contrast, there was a small disparity in the shares of Japanese and German in 2006, with the figures standing at around 28% and 12%, respectively. Subsequently, Japanese and German both experienced ebbs and flows over time frame: the former decreased to about 16% in 2014, while the latter dropped to a chart-low of nearly 6%. Ultimately, the percentage of French learners was the highest at about 29% in 2006, a figure that then oscillated by 2013, before returning to its initial position in 2014.