Spaniards appetite for foreign language grows

2009 saw more than 140,000 Spaniards travelling overseas to learn another language, with over half of them being under 18 years old.

Of this figure more than 90% chose to study English in either the UK, Ireland, the USA or Canada. England, Scotland and Wales together represented over 30% of the chosen destinations.

The study by the Centre of Sociological Investigation revealed that an impressive 23% of Spaniards speak fluent English, with over 8% being fluent in French, but with under 2% cent speaking German, Italian or Portuguese.

90% of the Spanish agree that it is important to speak a foreign language, although the many have, nor have they felt that this hindered their progressing through their careers.

Residential courses abroad for whole families have also been attracting more attention of late, often being chosen in conjunction with, or even instead of a holiday break.

The report also shows how more and more children are being sent abroad for an entire academic year to study for the destination country's equivalent of GCSEs and A-levels (Such as the ESO and Bachillerato in Spain).

However, Spain remains way down the league table of European countries where English as a second language is spoken widely, placed 25th out of the 27 countries surveyed.