Spanish set to trump German in classes

Published on Friday 15 August 2008 22:31

SPANISH is set to take over from German as the second most popular foreign language in Scottish schools.

French remains the most popular foreign language for pupils, with 4,602 Higher candidates this year, but German seems likely to topple from second place.

There are already more Spanish candidates in fourth year, and the subject is set to overtake German at Higher for the first time next year.

There were 1,327 Higher Spanish candidates this year – a rise of 9 per cent – while the number of German candidates fell 10 per cent to 1,459.

Jim Docherty, the depute general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, said: "One of the major reasons is the perceived difficulty of German. For the vast majority of people, Spanish is simpler and easier to learn.

"Plus, so many more people go on holiday to Spanish-speaking countries than go to German-speaking nations."

He said once local authorities identified a drop in a subject's popularity, they employed fewer teachers qualified in it.

"So if there are fewer German teachers there will be fewer opportunities – it is self-perpetuating."

A spokesman for Scotland's biggest teaching union, the EIS, said interest in learning specific languages fluctuated for a variety of reasons.

He said: "With the emphasis on transferable skills that can be applied internationally, it is of no surprise that widely spoken languages such as Spanish will become increasingly attractive to learners."

John De Cecco, senior lecturer in language education at Strathclyde University, said Spanish was the one language that had been "bucking the downward trend" in recent years.