Fewer than half of pupils in England took a modern European language at GCSE this year, according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats. In 2007 the number of children taking French, German and Spanish had fallen to 48% - down from 83% in 2000.
The Lib Dems said it was the first time that fewer than half of school children were learning a European language.
The government said it was taking action, such as compulsory languages in primary schools, to reverse the trend.
Persian and Mandarin The Liberal Democrats education spokesman David Laws accused the government of presiding over the destruction of languages in schools.
The new figures, obtained via a Parliamentary written answer, come after curriculum changes in 2003 meant students were no longer required to take a modern language at GCSE.
When the requirement was dropped, the number of teenagers studying modern European languages plummeted.
It had been suggested that an increase in those taking languages like Persian and Mandarin would begin to make up the shortfall.
But the proportion of GCSE entries for world languages has fallen to its lowest level for fourteen years.
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