"Just as some people have taken a perverse pride in not understanding mathematics, so we have taken a perverse pride in the fact that we do not speak foreign languages, and we just need to speak louder in English, " he said.

BBC: Teach foreign languages from age five, says Gove

In the new single level tests being piloted in English reading, English writing and mathematics, the questions are all pitched at a certain level of understanding.

BBC: All school Sats tests 'might go'