Britons are bottom of the class when it comes to learning a language, with less than a third of young people able to read and write in a foreign tongue, “miles behind” those in the next worst-performing European country.

Research has found that only 32 per cent of young people aged 15 to 30 feel confident reading and writing in two or more languages, including their mother tongue. Among EU countries Hungary is next on the list, with 71 per cent able to manage. In France, the proportion is 79 per cent, rising to 91 per cent in Germany. In Ireland, 75 per cent of the age group can read and write in a second language. The EU average is 89 per cent.

The research,