Focus on English at Spain’s schools

Global language: Pupils walk by a board with English words at a public school in Madrid. - AFP

Hello everybody, how are you?" asks the teacher, and two dozen Spanish-accented voices reply in unison, in well-drilled English: "I'm fine, thank you."

It's back-to-school last week for these Spanish nine-year-olds, which means means being plunged not only into a new class but into a whole new language.