Spain, with an average level of proficiency, ranks 25th in Europe out of 35 countries, according to the report published by Education First, which is based on test data from more than 2.1 million people worldwide who took the EF Standard English Test or an English language level test in 2021.
However, Spain has broken the downward trend for the first time since 2014 and has slightly improved its score by 5 points (545 points).
Its position in this world ranking, whose top 10 is dominated by European countries, places it at the bottom of Europe in terms of the level of English, behind Italy, which in this edition has gained 3 positions, and ahead of France, which has dropped 3 places from 31st to 34th.
The company has highlighted that France, Spain and Italy, “still do not reach the level of their neighbours, while Germany manages to stay in the top ten positions with a command of English qualified as very high”.
“Despite this small boost, the level of English of Spaniards remains at moderate levels and has not shown great improvement for many years. These data show that the educational model is deficient in language learning,” said Xavier Martí, Director General of EF Spain.
In general terms, the level of English proficiency in Europe has increased by 6 points on average, compared to last year, although the rate of improvement in the European Union has slowed down. Some countries with low and moderate levels, such as Italy, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, have led the growth this year.
In both European and global terms, Spain remains at an average level of English proficiency, in the same range as Ukraine, South Korea and Costa Rica. Being at this medium level means mastering tasks such as participating in meetings in one’s area of expertise, understanding song lyrics or writing professional e-mails on familiar topics.
In this edition of the ranking, the Netherlands continues to lead the world for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Singapore, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Germany, which make up the TOP10. In Europe, the Netherlands is also at the top, followed by Austria, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Germany and Croatia.
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How's your Spanish? I know a bloke who actually claims that the reason Spaniards are all unemployed (they're not) is because they don't speak English (would YOU hire someone that doesn't speak English?). Another little bit that might surprise you is that Spanish is about equal to English as the most spoken *native* tongue in the world (notwithstanding combined dialects of Chinese, which are hugely concentrated to China - it's not a "global language" like English or Spanish). So, it's ok for English to only speak one language, but Spanish-speaking people somehow fail that test?
Here's an idea, learn the language of the country you live in.
Leaves you with 3 options, 1. Learn Spanish (not easy) 2. Find an English tradesmen (good luck) 3. Use an interpreter (£££)