For a growing number of Hongkongers, mastering English and Putonghua just isn't enough, with more children and adults seeking out courses in other languages.
The appetite for new tongues is a sign of the obsession with academic excellence, as well as increased exposure to foreign languages, according to Jean-Luc Rey, chairman of the Association of Teachers of French in Hong Kong and Macau. French, German, Hindi, Urdu, Japanese and Spanish are now included in the curriculum for the last three years of secondary school, besides Cantonese, English and Putonghua.
About 15,000 people study French in Hong Kong, including in primary, secondary and tertiary education, and with private tutors, at private centres and at the Alliance Francaise - a global institute promoting French language and culture.
'French is like the fourth language in Hong Kong,' said Benoit Gaudin, the attach? for linguistic affairs at the French consulate.
Gerard Henry, deputy executive manager of the Alliance Francaise says it has 6,639 students, up from 6,200 in 2004 and 6,400 in 2007.
'Now that Mandarin and English are taught in most schools, parents are sending their children to study another foreign language,' Henry said.
Martin Bode, head of language courses at the Goethe-Institut in Hong Kong, which performs a similar role for German culture, pointed to a steady upward trend of people studying German. About 4,000 students take courses at its centre in Wan Chai.