The report, by Lord Dearing, the Government’s troubleshooter, is also expected to recommend that language teaching be offered in all primary schools. It will also call for language classes in secondary schools to be made more engaging to persuade greater numbers of pupils to take part.

The report is unlikely, however, to recommend that ministers reverse the decision to make foreign languages optional at age 14. That decision in September 2004 caused an outcry and led to accusations that the young would miss out on good jobs, either overseas or at home, and was followed by a steep decline in language learning in secondary school.

Foreign languages are now compulsory beyond the age of 14 in only 17 per cent of state schools, and three quarters of students in a third of state schools drop foreign languages by the time they are 15.

Lord Dearing’s review was ordered in response to this fall by Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, who is taking French lessons.

Although the Dearing report is not expected to recommend a return to compulsion at 14, it will argue for languages to be taught in all primary schools, so that an enthusiasm for languages can be nurtured earlier.

The Government has already pledged that by 2010 all pupils aged 7 to 11 will be entitled to learn at least one foreign language in school. This pledge follows the success of a pilot scheme involving 1,400 primary schools that introduced a language, usually French. The schools found that most children enjoyed the experience so much that they wanted to carry on with it at secondary school.

Now 56 per cent of primary school heads have introduced or are planning to introduce languages into their schools, up from 44 per cent in 2004.

One way of making language teaching in secondary schools more engaging will be through offering a wider range of languages, including Mandarin, which is increasingly valued by employers. The language is growing in popularity in independent schools, in recognition of the growing importance of China to the British economy, but is available only in a small number state schools.

Business leaders are now calling for more Mandarin teaching. They expect sales to China to be worth 10 per cent of their global revenues, equivalent to nearly £200 billion a year, by 2009, making China Britain’s most important export market.

A survey of 500 business leaders conducted by the Hay consultancy group found that many companies believed that poor language skills and a lack of understanding of the Chinese market were holding Britain back.

Sally Low, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, hoped that the report would go further. She said: “The needs of business are changing. In an increasingly globalised economy, Mandarin and Urdu are in more demand than the traditional French and German.”

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