The two bar charts illustrate the percentage of 14- to 16-year-old students studying a foreign language in an English-speaking country in 1984 and 2007, as well as the three most popular foreign languages studied in these years.
Overall, it can be seen that the proportion of students learning a foreign language declined over the period. In addition, French was the most commonly studied language in both years, although its popularity fell significantly by 2007.
In 1984, approximately 50% of girls studied a foreign language, compared to around 30% of boys. However, by 2007, the figures had decreased for both genders, falling to about 40% for girls and roughly 25% for boys. Despite this decline, girls remained more likely than boys to learn another language.
Regarding specific languages, French was the dominant choice in 1984, with about half of students studying it. This figure dropped considerably to around 25% in 2007. German showed a similar but less dramatic decrease, falling from approximately 20% to about 15%. In contrast, Spanish became more popular, rising from around 5% in 1984 to roughly 10% in 2007.
In summary, fewer students studied foreign languages in 2007 than in 1984, and although French remained the leading language, Spanish gained popularity over time.