-- EF Education First's English Proficiency Index reveals wide gaps in English skills across the world --
SHANGHAI, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- EF Education First, the world leader in international education, today unveiled the first comprehensive index ranking the proficiency of English among a broad population in 44 countries and territories around the world where English is not the native language.
The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) is the first index that compares the English ability of adults in different countries. The index uses a unique set of test data (see methodology) from over two million people across 44 countries who took free online English tests over three years (2007-2009).
Asia's performance was lower than expected especially in light of the amount spent on private English training. Moreover, although European countries tend to perform very well, Spain and Italy lag far behind others in Western Europe. EF's English Proficiency Index also shows an interestingly strong correlation between a country's English ability and its national income per head. There are also high correlations with levels of education and with export strength. In contrast to Europe's expected strong performance, Asia performed surprisingly poorly, with Malaysia (ranked 9) as the only notable exception. Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan only ranked in the "moderate" proficiency category, while China placed 29th, falling into the "low" English proficiency category. One possible explanation for Asia's poor performance is its historic educational focus on rote memorization, grammar and word-for-word translations, rather than (as in Europe's education system) greater emphasis on applying English to real life situations and practicing conversational English.
Notably, although China placed 29th, it did unexpectedly surpass India, which ranked 30th. Despite India's British colonial legacy and its reputation as an English-speaking nation, India is today less proficient in English than China.
"In today's highly competitive global economy, English language proficiency is a basic skill and has never been more important for the entire workforce," said Bill Fisher, CEO of EF China. Mr. Fisher added: "For China to compete successfully in global industries and capitalize on the business outsourcing boom, the ability to produce large numbers of skilled graduates who are able to communicate in English, must be a top priority."
The full country results included in this inaugural index are at http://www.ef.com/epi/ef-epi-ranking/ .
For interactive graphs and more analysis, please visit: http://www.ef.com/epi/ .
Country Sites & Methodology
For additional details on select markets included in the EF EPI and for the complete methodology of the study, please visit: http://www.ef.com/epi. A Chinese version is available at http://www.ef.com.cn/epi .
About EF Education First:
Established in 1965 with the mission to "break down barriers in language, culture, and geography", EF is the world's leading international education company that has helped over 15 million students to learn a new language and travel abroad. With a network of 400 schools and offices worldwide, EF specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degrees, and cultural exchange programs. For more information please see www.ef.com.cn .
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