New data from Quizlet reveals that languages are the top study topic in the UK, with French proving the most popular

New data from education platform, Quizlet, shows that the most studied subject on its platform in the UK is languages,with thousands of users creating study sets each week which are made available for other users on the platform.

A second, or third  language is an invaluable skill, both personally and professionally. Recent studies show that in 2022 over a third of the British population speaks more than one language, which means that more than 24.5 million people are bilingual in the UK alone. Further statistics show that 6.5% of the UK are multilingual, meaning they can speak over three languages!

More than one third of GCSE students across the UK use Quizlet to support their learning, with one in nine university students using the platform when revising for exams, helping them to achieve the results they desire. The tool hosts a range of language-learning digital flashcards, allowing students to learn key phrases and vocabulary in a fun, interactive and engaging way.

While languages are the most popular study topic, French is the most studied individual language, followed closely by Spanish and German”

Other top study sets include science, arts, humanities and social sciences. Quizlet is a popular education platform where students can find step-by-step solutions for nearly any class they need, and can study anywhere – even on the go. Over 120,000 study sets are created on Quizlet each week in the UK, with one in three British secondary school pupils using the app, which offers students thousands of study sets to help aid stressful revision periods.

Hockerill Anglo-European College’s student, Anton Trusty, achieved an astounding 11 GCSEs, all at the highest grade of 9 – and advocates that using Quizlet’s flashcards helped him achieve such impressive grades. Anton expressed that Quizlet has helped him learn difficult languages such as Mandarin, as the flashcards were a useful tool in helping to learn challenging vocabulary and concepts. 

While traditional languages are proving popular on Quizlet, languages or fictitious languages from TV and film are also available for those keen to dive deeper into their fandoms. Latin has over 5,000 study sets on the platform, with dead languages such as Sanskrit also featured.

Game of Thrones fans have also made their way to Quizlet, High Valyrian – the fictitious language that features in the globally award-winning TV series – has recorded over 1,000 people learning the language. Fans across other fictitious sagas are also turning to Quizlet to study their favourite fictional language; users have created flashcard sets on Lord of the Rings’ languages Khuzdul and Elvish, Star Wars language Ewokese and the notorious Klingon from Star Trek. 

Being bilingual or multilingual is proven to strengthen cognitive abilities, however, it is no easy task. Learning a foreign language not only challenges the brain by constructing new cognitive frameworks but also takes considerable time as it requires consistency, theory and practical application ,and commitment. 

Research shows that 60.1% of students prefer using digital flashcards due to their convenience. Students can practise spaced repetition, which is a powerful method of retaining information; the brain retains detail better when it is spaced out, rather than crammed.

Implementing flashcards into individual study is the best way to retrieve and recall information, engaging the brain and learning languages at speed.

Learning with flashcards is a seamless way for students to retain bite-sized information that is easily accessible for testing and improving memory through practised information retrieval. Flashcards are usually two-sided, with the prompt on one side and the information on the other. This allows the user to quickly and easily recall information such as vocabulary and concepts.

Flashcards help engage in active recall which teaches the brain to remember a term, concept, or process without additional context clues. Active recall retrieval practice from flashcards can also lead to up to 150% better retention than passive studying. 

Quizlet aims to help as many students and teachers as possible with their learning and provides a unique and effective learning experience. One in four teachers across the UK already uses Quizlet in their classroom, with over two million British students and teachers using the online educational tool to reinforce learning throughout GCSEs and A Levels and University studies.

Backed by thousands, flashcards help memory recall allowing users to learn efficiently and quickly.  Quizlet helps aid language learning by providing the opportunity to create simple flashcards that help prompt learning in a fun and easy way.  

Rahim Hirji, Country Manager at Quizlet.