The two bar charts examine the percentage of 14-16-year-old students learning a modern foreign language in an English-speaking country and three most popular languages from 1984 to 2007.
Overall, it can be seen that girls learn foreign languages more than boys, however the proportions of both decreased in the final year. Notably, French was the number one language to study, although its percentage showed a sharp decline in the end of the period.
More specifically, the proportion of teenage girls studying foreign languages started at approximately 65% in 1984, but in 2007 this number significantly dropped to just over 50%. The percentage of young male students showed similar downward trend. Starting at just under 50% in 1984, the percentage then went down to 40% in 2007.
Looking at the top three languages studied by teenagers, French came top of the list, with 65% in 1984. However, this number sharply decreased in 2007, remaining at 50%. The proportion of Spanish learners started at 5% in 1984. In 2007, its number rose considerably to 20%, surpassing German, whose proportion remained stable at 15% for the entire period.