England star Becks is taking private Spanish lessons

It is expecting an extra 1,700 students to take up beginners' courses, following the England captain's �24.5m move to Real Madrid from Manchester United over the summer.

Cecilia Garrido, sub-dean of the OU's faculty of languages, said:"I call it the 'Beckham effect'

"Our figures show that in the last few weeks, since David Beckham announced his move to Real Madrid, the number of students who want to learn Spanish has risen rapidly.

Languages do the double

"The popularity of Spanish as a language and culture is on the increase and recent media coverage of David Beckham's move has contributed by putting Spain firmly in the spotlight.

"Now, more and more people want to learn the language."

The OU has seen the number of people studying foreign languages double in the past year.

Earlier this year, schools minister Stephen Twigg said he hoped Beckham's transfer to Real would increase interest in learning Spanish.

Spain is UK holidaymakers' number one tourist destination, while Spanish is considered the second most important European language for business.

But the subject is taken at GCSE by only 8% of pupils in England.

Over the summer, the OU offered Beckham - named the world's highest-paid footballer in May, with annual earnings of �10.53m - the chance to take one of its courses for free.