Editing German language (section)

===As a foreign language===
[[File:German foreign language EU.jpg|thumb|Self-reported knowledge of German as a [[foreign language]] in the EU member states (+[[Turkey]] and [[UK]]), in per cent of the adult population (+15), 2005]]
Like English, French, and Spanish, German has become a standard foreign language throughout the world, especially in the Western World.<ref name="eurobarometer" /><ref name="goethe-institut">{{cite web|url=https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623213857/https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-23 |url-status=live|title= Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit. Datenerhebung 2015 – Worldwide survey of people learning German; conducted by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute|website=Goethe.de|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> German ranks second on par with French among the best known foreign languages in the [[European Union]] (EU) after English,<ref name="eurobarometer"/> as well as in [[Russia]],<ref name="Levada2008">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Знание иностранных языков в России |trans-title=Knowledge of foreign languages in Russia |language=ru |url=http://www.levada.ru/16-09-2008/znanie-inostrannykh-yazykov-v-rossii |publisher=Levada Centre |access-date=10 May 2015 |date=16 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510133101/http://www.levada.ru/16-09-2008/znanie-inostrannykh-yazykov-v-rossii |archive-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> and [[Turkey]].<ref name="eurobarometer" /> In terms of student numbers across all levels of education, German ranks third in the EU (after English and French)<ref name="eurostat-2024" /> and in the United States (after Spanish and French).<ref name="MLA-2015"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools: Are Students Prepared for a Global Society? |date=February 2011 |publisher=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=8 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408184754/http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In British schools, where learning a foreign language is not mandatory, a dramatic decline in entries for German A-Level has been observed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Aine |date=2023-06-01 |title=Exam entries: German continues decline in popularity but computing soars |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/gcse-alevel-spanish-german-alevels-b1085006.html |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=Evening Standard |language=en |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826091215/https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/gcse-alevel-spanish-german-alevels-b1085006.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, approximately 15.4{{nbsp}}million people were enrolled in learning German across all levels of education worldwide. This number has decreased from a peak of 20.1{{nbsp}}million in 2000.<ref name="DW survey">{{Cite web |last=Hamann |first=Greta |title=15.4 million people are learning German as a foreign language |date=2020-06-04 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/154-million-people-are-learning-german-as-a-foreign-language/a-53685365 |website=DW |language=en-GB |access-date=31 January 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207051223/https://www.dw.com/en/154-million-people-are-learning-german-as-a-foreign-language/a-53685365 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the EU, not counting countries where it is an official language, German as a foreign language is most popular in [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Northern Europe]], namely the [[Czech Republic]], [[Croatia]], [[Denmark]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Poland]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and [[Serbia]].<ref name=eurobarometer /><ref name=eurostat /> German was once, and to some extent still is, a [[lingua franca]] in those parts of Europe.{{sfn|Von Polenz|1999|pp=192–94, 96}}