List of most commonly learned second languages in the United States

The tables below provide a list of second languages most frequently taught in American schools and colleges. They reflect the popularity of these languages in terms of the total number of enrolled students in the United States.

Lists

K-12

Below are the top second languages studied in public K-12 schools (i.e., primary and secondary schools). The tables correspond to the 18.5% (some 8.9 million) of all K-12 students in the U.S. (about 49 million) who take foreign-language classes.^[1]

K-12 students (2007-2008)
Rank	Language	Enrollments	Percentage
1	Spanish	6,418,331	72.06%
2	French	1,254,243	14.08%
3	German	395,019	4.43%
4	Latin	205,158	2.30%
5	Japanese	72,845	0.82%
6	Chinese	59,860	0.67%
7	Russian	12,389	0.14%
	Others^[2]	489,356	5.49%
	Total	8,907,201	100%

Colleges and universities

Below are the top foreign languages studied in American institutions of higher education (i.e., colleges and universities), based on the Modern Language Association's census of fall 2021 enrollments.^[3]^: 49

College and university students (2021)
Rank	Language	Enrollments
1	Spanish	584,453
2	French	135,088
3	American Sign Language	107,899
4	Japanese	65,661
5	German	53,543
6	Chinese	46,492
7	Italian	45,182
8	Arabic	22,918
9	Latin	19,472
10	Korean	19,270
11	Russian	17,598
12	Greek, Ancient	11,433
13	Hebrew, Biblical	10,442
14	Portuguese	7,684
15	Hebrew, Modern	4,125
	Less Commonly Taught Languages	31,302
	Total	1,182,562

List of top five most commonly learned languages by year

Grades K-12

Year	Languages
Year	1	%	2	%	3	%	4	%	5	%
2004–2005	Spanish	72.9	French	15.0	German	4.2	Latin	2.6	Japanese	0.7	^[1]
2007–2008	Spanish	72.1	French	14.1	German	4.4	Latin	2.3	Japanese	0.8	^[1]

Higher education

Year	Languages
Year	1	2	3	4	5
1960	French	Spanish	German	Russian	Italian	^[4]
1968	French	Spanish	German	Russian	Latin
1980	Spanish	French	German	Italian	Latin
1990	Spanish	French	German	Italian	Japanese
1995	Spanish	French	German	Japanese	Italian
1998	Spanish	French	German	Italian	Japanese
2002	Spanish	French	German	Italian	American Sign
2006	Spanish	French	German	American Sign	Italian
2009	Spanish	French	German	American Sign	Italian
2013	Spanish	French	American Sign	German	Italian
2016	Spanish	French	American Sign	German	Japanese
2021	Spanish	French	American Sign	Japanese	German

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools" (PDF). American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
^ "Others" includes (in order of quantity) Native American languages, Korean, Filipino, Arabic, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Turkish, Swahili and Hindi.
^ Modern Language Association (2023). "Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in US Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2021" (PDF). Modern Language Association. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
^ Looney, Dennis; Lusin, Natalia (February 2018). "Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016 Preliminary Report" (PDF). Modern Language Association. Retrieved July 2, 2018.

External links

[:0-1] "Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools" (PDF). American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2015.

[2] "Others" includes (in order of quantity) Native American languages, Korean, Filipino, Arabic, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Turkish, Swahili and Hindi.

[mla-2021-3] Modern Language Association (2023). "Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in US Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2021" (PDF). Modern Language Association. Retrieved 2024-08-17.

[:1-4] Looney, Dennis; Lusin, Natalia (February 2018). "Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016 Preliminary Report" (PDF). Modern Language Association. Retrieved July 2, 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Language education
Methodology	Audio-lingual method Automatic Language Growth Communicative language teaching Comprehension approach Community language learning Computer-assisted language learning Content-based instruction Direct Method Dogme language teaching Extensive reading Focal Skills Grammar–translation method Language immersion Lexical approach Michel Thomas Method Natural approach Silent way Suggestopedia Task-based language learning Total physical response TPR Storytelling Vocabulary development Whole language
Teaching techniques	Mother tongue mirroring Sandwich technique Back-chaining Dictogloss Information gap
Key concepts	Bilingual dictionary Critical period hypothesis English as a lingua franca Interlanguage Language transfer Second-language acquisition World Englishes
Assessment	Language assessment Washback effect Corrective feedback Competency evaluation DIALANG IELTS TOEFL TOEIC UCLES
Programs and organizations	English as a second or foreign language English for specific purposes TESOL
Key people	Betty Azar H. Douglas Brown Pit Corder Jim Cummins Rod Ellis Stephen Krashen Scott Thornbury
Statistics	List of countries where English is an official language List of countries by English-speaking population Most commonly learned foreign languages in the U.S. EF English Proficiency Index