Many students are unable to put their language skills to practical use

In response the Department for Education said that a quarter of all primary schools in England already offered languages, although they were not required to - often drawing on voluntary support from capable parents.

And it said that primary school teachers who wanted to give children a taste of languages alongside the national curriculum, would in future be provided with schemes to help them to do so.

It would also encourage students to do language at AS-level, the first year of sixth form, and it was providing special incentives for language teachers entering the profession.

As far as practical ability goes many countries have found the most effective method is that of so-called "immersion" - surrounding the child with the foreign language, so they are forced to speak it in practical situations.

America and Canada have "immersing schools" where the whole school day is in a language other than the mother tongue, and a number of enterprising groups are trying the same principle in Britain - but not with much encouragement.

Christine Jenkins speaks to her son in French only

Christine Jenkins is an ex-patriot American who believes being bilingual is essential for living in Europe, and that pre-school is the crucial age to start.

From the moment her young son Adam was born she has spoken to him exclusively in French, which she learned in school. Adam hears English from his father and his playmates.

"I often get told off by other parents," Christine says. "They say that since I'm his mother I should speak to my son in my mother tongue, and that I'll miss lots of nuances.

"But I'm absolutely convinced it's worth it, so that Adam has the chance I never had - to be bilingual. It'll be great for him for the rest of his life."

Some 20 schools around the country are experimenting in bilingual or immersion techniques.

The Millais girls' comprehensive in West Sussex has been teaching GCSE business studies in Spanish, where the girls actually sit a Spanish version of the business GCSE at the end. All the students taking part have achieved top marks in both Spanish and business.

And the pupils' verdict?

"You have to think in Spanish or you can't follow the Business lesson", one explains. "But our Spanish ends up better than everyone else's."

Headteacher Leon Nettley is being forced to drop bilingual exams

However, their headteacher, Leon Nettley, has been told the bilingual exam cannot be used after the year 2000 as it no longer fits the standardised exam system.

"The regulations seem to stifle diversity," he says. "And it's doubly disappointing other schools didn't join us so it could continue in the future.

"Our young people have to be at a disadvantage if their European rivals in the job market have a second language and they don't."

The examination authorities argue that sitting a subject in another language creates an unnecessary barrier for the students, who might not therefore achieve their best in the subject, and for the examiners and grade checkers, who would also need to be competent in the language as well as the subject sat.

The idea of some schools going bilingual while others do not contradicts the standardisation required by the national curriculum and the school league tables.

George Turnbull says bilingual exams would be "chaotic"

George Turnbull of the biggest exam board, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, says: "We pride ourselves on having the most rigorous examination system in the world.

"To introduce a subject examined in another language confuses the picture. It will be chaotic - a return to the situation where we had no idea what was being taught in schools.

"Employers want to know exactly what students are learning, and I don't think this kind of thing would benefit young people."

Another method of language immersion is the foreign exchange.

Ten-year-old James Gillespie is spending six months in France with his pal Davy's family, while attending the local school near Laval, in Brittany. Davy previously spent six months in England.

James Gillespie (left) is now a fluent French-speaker

James has to speak French, for example, to be sure of seconds at dinner.

"I speak French at meals, in school, playing football," he says. "If there's a word I don't understand I ask, and pretty soon my French gets better."

But few British schools take part. Janet Turley of Allef, the association which organises such exchanges, says schools are afraid that losing talented pupils and playing host to French students will drag down their league table results, while fluent pupils returning from their exchanges will need extra teaching.

The fact that five times more French than British families are applying to take part in exchanges is one sign of Britain's continuing problem with languages.