A recent report commissioned by the German Foreign Ministry paints a mixed picture when it comes to the popularity of learning German as a foreign language. The highest numbers of German learners are to be found in Poland and Russia - but the figures are not as high as they once were. Since the year 2000, interest in learning German as a foreign language has been steadily falling in the former eastern bloc. But as the trend towards greater globalisation continues, there are more people beyond Europe's borders who are keen to learn German. In Brazil, for example, there's been a 25 percent increase in the number of people learning German in the last five years. And there's been a similar growth in interest in China as well.

In our in-depth look at learning German, we meet a student from London who's come to Germany to study the language here. He's hoping he might be able to live here and find work as an actor. And we'll look at the different challenges and motivations for students of German in two very different parts of the world: China and South Africa. That's all in our In-Depth: Learning German.