English kids get into Mandarin

The global supremacy of the English language could be at risk in the near future.

Education secretary Michael Gove is said to be determined to increase the number of pupils taking foreign languages at GCSE by making them mandatory for the first time at primary level.

In fact, learning a foreign language will be compulsory from the age of seven, with Mandarin Chinese, Latin and Greek being added to 2014 timetables.

The action comes just weeks after nearly 40 per cent of schools in UK have declared that the number of students taking foreign languages at GCSEs had increased this year as a direct result of the English Baccalaureate's introduction in 2010.

Mandarin Chinese as a modern foreign language option in UK has received a boost from Mr Gove to compete in a global economy and support economic growth in future. 

He is currently promoting a public debate on the plans before redrafting them for a formal consultation later in 2012.

Meanwhile related Department for Education’s figures revealed that the number of children who do not have English as their mother tongue has increased by about 200,000 since 2007. About one in six pupils from primary schools do not have English as their first language, while in secondaries one in eight students speak another language at home.