At the end of 2022 an interesting report was published that ranked countries worldwide based on their English speaking proficiency. In this post we are going to look at European countries and how they have faired on the English Proficincy Index.
It is worth saying from the outset that the report (published by EF Education First Limited) was compiled after surveying 2.1 million people worldwide. Each person took a standard English test and their ability was recorded and ranked. 2.1 million people is not a small sample, so we can be reasonabiy satisfied that these results are representative of English Langauge proficiency throughout the world.
So, where do the European countries find themselves in this worldwide index? Let’s have a look at the rankings:
1 – The Netherlands
3 – Austria
4 – Norway
5 – Denmark
6 – Belgium
7 – Sweden
8 – Finland
9 – Portugal
10 – Germany
11 – Croatia
13 – Poland
14 – Greece
15 – Slovakia
16 – Luxemburg
17 – Romania
18 – Hungary
19 – Lithuania
21 – Bulgaria
23 – Czech Republic
25 – Latvia
26 – Estonia
27 – Serbia
29 – Switzerland
32 – Italy
33 – Spain
34 – France
35 – Ukraine
39 – Belarus
40 – Russia
42 – Moldova
45 – Georgia
47 – Albania
57 – Armenia
64 – Turkey
92 – Azerbaijan
It may not be a surprise to notice that the Scandinavian countries top the worldwide list for English Language proficiency. However, what may be a surprise is that Italy, France and Spain, all with a long history of English Language learning, are all much further down the list of European countries for English proficiency. As an English trainer working in Spain I find this a little worrying given that so many jobs now require English at at least a basic level (maybe A2/B1). I know many companies are struggling to find employees in Europe that have such basic levels of English. It should also be noted that to be able to work effectively in English, you really need a B2 level as a minimum!
It’s not all doom and gloom though. European countries continue to improve more than other countries at a 6 point increase per year since 2011. However, this is based mostly on countries such as Russia, Turkey and Italy making big moves forward. Unfortunately, Spain has made very little improvement and France has actually been trending downwards in its proficiency.
Another interesting statistic to take from this is that these improvements are not by young people learning at school. The biggest driver of English Language Proficiency in Europe occurs in the 26-30 age group. This is significant since these are the people that are now building their careers and pushing forward at work.
Recommendations
As a result of the survey from 111 countries worldwide, the following recommendations have been established for organisations and businesses.:
- Set realistic goals that take into account the hours needed to close the gap between current and target proficiency levels for each individual.
- Build a culture of internationalism and mobility, including in branch offices.
- Use platforms that facilitate contact between teams in different countries.
- Build diverse, multinational teams in all functions, including the back office.
- Test the entire workforce to identify strategic weaknesses in English.
- Train employees using a role-specific English Curriculum.
- Leverage technology to bring flexible learning at scale.
- Set minimum standards of English proficiency for different roles, and test that those standards are being met.
- Reward employees who invest time in improving their English.
- Encourage executives and managers to lead by example and share their experiences as English Learners.
- Prioritise access to English learning for all employees.
It is clear that teams where English is used at work must have suitable training. That training should be hand-in-hand with a culture of English learning, sharing and working together to promote the acquisition and use of langauge. Sankofa English provides training not only to employees but to management, HR, and Directors to help them ensure that English Language proficiency is given the necessary priority within their business, and to ensure that teams work effectively, efficiently and profitably. We also provide an assessment of your businesses proficieny in English by level testing all staff, measuring requirements against proficiency and set goals and providing strategic recommendations to enhance your businesses ability to work with English in different countries and cultures.
Training also has a host of other benifits for your team. To learn more about that, have a read of our previous post “The Additional Benefits of Language Training For Your Staff“
You can access the full report about English Langauge proficiency here https://www.ef.com.es/epi/
Is this where you thought your country would be? Why not leave us a reply below and tell us your thoughts.
