Netflix’s Oscar-winning film All Quiet On The Western Front is sending a wave of Britons to study German
Can you speak German? Popularity of Netflix’s Oscar-winning war film, All Quiet On The Western Front, boosts number of Britons going to study German as student numbers rise by a third
- The German-language film All Quiet on the Western Front won four Oscars this year
- There has been a 32 per cent increase in the number of pupils in the UK and Ireland, says Duolingo
Thanks to the popularity of the anti-war film All Quiet On The Western Front, the number of Britons studying German has risen sharply.
Since the release in October of the World War I Oscar winner, who is in German, there has been a 32 per cent increase in the number of pupils in the UK and Ireland, according to the educational app Duolingo.
It is now the fourth most popular language for UK users of the app, offering free lessons in over 100 languages.
All Quiet on the Western Front – which is in German – won four Oscars this year, including Best International Film.
It was co-written by former Scottish triathlete Lesley Paterson, who spent 16 years bringing the film to fruition.
Since the release in October of the World War I Oscar winner, who is in German, the number of pupils in the UK and Ireland has risen by 32 per cent
The battle for German to be taught by film buffs comes as the language is being promoted by a new government program to promote it in schools.
Last year, fewer than 40,000 students took German GCSEs – far less than Spanish and French.
Dr. Cindy Blanco, senior learning scientist at Duolingo, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Popular culture has long been an inspiration to language learners, particularly in the UK.
‘People don’t just enjoy international media for entertainment. They get something out of it, including inspiration to learn more about a community’s language and culture and excitement to learn a new language.”
Duolingo also found that The Quiet Girl, a coming-of-age drama set in rural Ireland, also led to an increase in the number of Irish learners in the UK.
Worldwide, the number of people studying Irish grew by 25 percent.
But it’s not just movies that inspire aspiring linguists.
When the Netflix series Squid Game debuted in 2021, the educational app saw a 76 percent spike in the number of people learning Korean.
And Korean pop culture continues to have a strong influence on language learning, with 15 percent of Brits saying bands like BTS inspired them to learn a new language, according to a recent survey by Duolingo.
All Quiet on the Western Front – which is in German – won four Oscars this year, including Best International Film
The Italian also experienced a record storm when his football team won the European Championship in 2021.
But the numbers come as foreign language learning in schools continues to fall to record lows in England.
Only half of pupils in England take a language at GCSE level, which the Department of Education wants to increase to 90 per cent by 2025.
It has committed to investing millions to boost adoption and get linguistics back on the program.
Vicky Gough, British Council Schools Adviser, said popular programs ‘certainly increase interest in language learning and interest in the cultures of those countries’.
“Anything that can increase interest in language learning is fantastic and we need more people in the UK to see the benefits.”
A recent survey by the British Council found that a quarter of British adults regret never learning a new language.
And despite this slump in formal education, the UK now ranks second for aspiring polyglots – people learning more than two languages - after Finland.
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