English, French, and German are the three official working languages of the European Union. In absolute numbers, German is the second most-spoken language on the continent of Europe. However, when it comes to native speakers, German is number one.
For centuries German served as a lingua franca (a common language which unifies different peoples) in large parts of the European continent. It continues to serve this purpose as an important second language in central and eastern Europe. In the English-speaking world, German is also the third most taught foreign language. In addition to that, it comes in at tenth place as one of the major languages of the world and stated as one of the top three languages to learn for the future for Children.
German is offered as an extracurricular activity.