The price tag suggested for adding more foreign languages to the school curriculum is just a "drop in the ocean", according to a teachers' union.

The Scottish Government's ambition for piloting languages in primary school is to be welcomed, but ministers must be realistic about the scale of the challenge, the Educational Institute of Scotland told MSPs at Holyrood.

The Government has said it would provide £120,000 to fund pilot projects and an additional £4 million in 2013-14 to support councils.

Hugh Donnelly, member of the union's education committee, said: "£4m is a drop in the ocean. I think also the scale and ambition did surprise a lot of us."

The SNP wants to introduce at least one second language from the first year of primary school.