The decline in language learning in England's secondary schools has been halted but the situation is "turbulent", a report suggests.
A survey by the the National Centre for Languages (known as Cilt) found only 45% of state secondary schools had half of pupils studying languages to age 16.
This varied greatly between schools and regions. Among private schools, 88% had compulsory languages until 16.
Many state schools had introduced new courses to attract pupils to languages.
There are a variety of courses at various levels.
The report said one in five state secondary schools was using an assessment scheme called Asset Languages, which was suitable for all levels from primary school to university standard.
Other examples were NVQ language units and the Certificate of Business Language Competence.
In the survey, which had responses from about 855 schools out of 2,000, 41% of schools were offering alternatives to GCSE as opposed to 22% in 2006.