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Spaniards speak better English than ever: study

Spain is continuing to see big gains in its English language skills, with the country reaping the rewards of increased investment into language education, a new study shows.

Published: 12 November 2014 16:52 CET

Spaniards speak better English than ever: study

Photo of classroom: Shutterstock

Spain has ranked 20th among 60 countries surveyed in the latest Education First (EF) English Language Proficiency Index.

That is three places higher than Spain managed in EF's 2013 index, and means the country is now only just outside the High Proficiency Index which includes countries like Switzerland and Singapore.

It also puts Spain a long way ahead of countries like Italy, in 27th place, and France, which ranked 29th.

SEE ALSO: Ten things Spaniards hate about English

The results show a continuing trend towards better English language skills in Spain, with the country one of the biggest improvers since 2007 — behind only Turkey, Poland and Estonia.

"Spain is seeing the results of a significant change in attitude toward English language education. The Spanish government has defined English as one of seven basic skills, alongside Spanish and math," the authors of the EF study noted.

The report also noted the huge increase in the number of bilingual schools in the country, where students spend 30 percent of the day in an English-speaking environment.

"Although other economic factors are hampering Spain’s recovery, training young people in essential skills for a globalized economy is undoubtedly a wise investment," the study said.

The latest EF English Language Proficiency Index showed Spanish women had slightly better English than Spanish men, while people aged 35 to 44 had the best English.

In terms of regions, the highest scores were in the Basque Country while the lowest were in Extremadura.

In terms of global standings, the Danes came out top as the best non-native speakers of English ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden, while 18 of the top 20 countries were European.

The EF study also concluded there exist strong correlations between English proficiency and income, quality of life, ease of doing business, Internet usage, and years of schooling. These correlations are remarkably stable over time, stated EF in its findings.

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Italians ranked among worst in the EU at speaking English – again

How does English teaching in Italy compare to other European countries? File photo: Mychele Daniau/AFP

Italy's English proficiency is second to last in the European Union, going by how its nationals scored in language tests, with only Spaniards performing worse.

Italy ranks 30th out of 100 countries where English isn't a national language in the latest English Proficiency Index from global language training company Education First, on par with Malaysia and well behind top-scoring countries in northern Europe.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Sweden topped the table, while Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq and Tajikistan scored lowest worldwide.

An extract from Education's First's 2020 English Proficiency Index.

Within the EU, Italy and Spain were the only two countries where English-language skills are classed as “moderate” rather than “high” or “very high”.

And even though Italy has climbed the ranking compared to last year – when it came bottom in the EU and 36th overall – its two biggest cities performed worse than any other EU city included in the index. Even Madrid and Barcelona in Spain showed “high proficiency” compared to “moderate proficiency” in Rome and Milan, Education First said.

An extract from Education's First's 2020 English Proficiency Index.

People with moderate English skills should be able to make small talk, take part in meetings and write professional emails about subjects they're familiar with, the company says, but cannot necessarily read a newspaper, understand TV shows, give work presentations or communicate at an advanced level in social situations.

Italy has long lagged behind its neighbours in the index, with a lack of native-speaker teachers in public schools, lessons that focus on memorising grammar rules than practicing speaking and the tendency to dub foreign films and TV shows all cited as factors in why Italians struggle to perfect their English.

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“The gap in English proficiency is particularly concerning because both Italy and Spain suffer from high rates of unemployment, particularly among the young, and could desperately use the new economic opportunities that faster, smoother communications with the rest of Europe would bring,” Education First said.

Its ranking is based on scores from more than 2.2 million English learners worldwide who took its free online language test in 2019. People who choose to take the test are probably interested in studying English, which means that people who already speak it to a high level are less likely to take part.

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