Spanish is clearly now the world's coolest language. So why do we push British children to learn French? | Gary Nunn

"Now, Gary, repeat after me: Quiero una margarita, por favor, my Spanish tutor instructs. I cringe at the butchered Spanglish my estuary accent produces. Like Del Boy Trotter ordering a cocktail: Key yeah row oon margari'a, pour far four. It's 2023, I'm 41, living in Argentina and battling the frustration and disempowerment of learning a new language at this age, longing for my elastic 11-year-old brain over this husked-out mush."

"Partly, it's a simple numbers game. Spanish is the world's second-most-spoken first language 484 million speakers. French is 22nd, with just 74 million native speakers. Spanish wipes the floor with French for overall speakers, too. Logically, we should teach French to half as many students of compulsory schooling age as we do Spanish, which would come close to matching the proportion of speakers of each worldwide. We are nowhere near those numbers yet meaning we are failing to best prepare our students for modern-world realities."

"As of 2025, French was offered in about 70% of England's primary schools, with Spanish in just 26%. French is the most offered language at key stage 3 (ages 11-14). It is also dominant at GCSE level: last year, 90% of schools offered French to GCSE, while 76% offered Spanish. The interesting trend is what students are choosing. In August last year, Spanish became the most popular language GCSE in England for the first time,"

An English-speaking adult in Argentina struggles to learn Spanish at age 41, experiencing frustration and disempowerment and longing for an earlier language-learning ability. The individual studied French through university and worked in Nice for three summers, yet recognizes that Spanish would have been more useful. Spanish is the world's second-most-spoken native language with 484 million speakers, while French ranks 22nd with 74 million native speakers. School provision in England remains skewed: as of 2025, French appeared in about 70% of primary schools while Spanish appeared in just 26%, and French dominated GCSE offerings despite rising student uptake of Spanish.

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