The number of primary schools teaching children foreign languages has almost doubled since 2002, according to new research published today.
The study by the National Foundation for Educational Research shows that 84% of primary schools now teach children another language, up from 70% on 2006 and nearly double the 44% in 2002.
Traditional languages dominate. French is the most popular (89% of schools that teach languages) followed by Spanish (23%) and German (9%). But a small number (under 3%) offer Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Urdu.
The numbers studying foreign languages at school plummeted after ministers made them optional after age 14 in 2002, alongside introducing an entitlement for all primary pupils to learn a language in class time by 2010.
The government has since tried to boost take-up of languages overall. They will become compulsory at key stage 2 (age 7 to 11) after the current review of the primary curriculum.
Lord Dearing's languages review recommended this so that all pupils learn languages for a minimum of seven years.
He believed that learning languages earlier would inspire children with a love of languages and motivate them to continue learning languages post-14.
The schools minister, Jim Knight, said: "It's excellent news that so many children have the chance to learn a second language while at primary school.
"Today's research means that we are on target to meet our aim of ensuring all primary school children have the opportunity to learn another language by 2010.
"We have already trained 4,000 primary teachers with a languages specialism and will have trained thousands more by 2010," he said.
Research also published today found that most heads of languages surveyed approved of the KS3 framework for languages.
In particular, the emphasis on explicit teaching of grammar and encouraging pupils to take a more independent and analytical approach.
But the researchers from Cambridge University found that moving from primary to secondary schools can be a challenge for pupils' language learning, and primary language teaching was "inconsistent".
Researchers said headteachers were unclear about their plans for KS2 and KS3 language provision because of the changeability of central policy initiatives.
"Honestly, I've given up trying to have a crystal ball on anything the government does because the experience is that it changes in two years," said one headteacher.