The line graph compares the percentage of Canadian high school students learning different second languages—namely French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, and other unspecified languages—between 2006 and 2014.

Overall, French, Spanish, Chinese, and other languages gained popularity as second languages, while Japanese and German declined in popularity over the period. Notably, French remained the most commonly studied second language among students, despite fluctuations.

Focusing on the most significant increases first, the proportion of students learning Spanish started at just above 20% and experienced a significant rise, peaking at around 26% in 2011. However, this figure then declined notably to approximately 23% by the final year. Similarly, Chinese became increasingly popular, beginning at just 4% and rising sharply to nearly 15%, surpassing both German and other unspecified languages towards the end of the period.

French and other languages showed relatively smaller fluctuations. The percentage of students studying French was around 29% at the beginning, fluctuating throughout the period before increasing slightly to just over 30% in 2014. The trend for other unspecified languages followed a similar fluctuating pattern but at lower levels, starting at 7% and ending at 9%.

In contrast, Japanese and German saw declines in popularity. Initially, about 26% of students learned Japanese, but this figure experienced a sharp drop to 17% by 2014. The percentage of students studying German, which stood at 14% at the start, fluctuated before falling significantly to 7% by the end of the period.