Greeks are above the European Union average when it comes to being able to speak a foreign language, a study released yesterday suggested.

The poll conducted by the EU found that 57 percent of Greeks speak one foreign language at least to a conversational level (just above the EU average), 19 percent said they speak two languages and 4 percent claim to be real polyglots and speak three languages.

English is the most popular foreign language, with 44 percent of respondents saying they could hold a conversation in it. German comes in second with substantially fewer Greeks (9 percent) familiar with the language, followed by French which 8 percent said they spoke.

Some 90 percent of Greeks, more than any other citizens of the 25 EU countries, said that they learned foreign languages to have better job prospects.