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Spain is 23rd out of 60 countries for proficiency in English
Monday, November 11, 2013 @ 12:20 AM

HOLIDAYMAKERS and expatriates in Spain who assume 'everyone will speak English' had better put their names down for a Spanish language course – the country ranks 23^rd out of 60 for its linguistic abilities in Shakespeare's tongue.

Whilst Sweden and Norway came out top of the list for having highest portion of citizens who speak English competently, Spain did not fare so well in the research carried out by EF Education First.

The results of their third English Proficiency Index showed Asians are becoming more fluent, with far weaker levels of the language in Latin America and the Middle East.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

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wendie said:
Saturday, November 16, 2013 @ 9:03 AM

How does UK stand as a coiuntry for speaking other languages?
I'm surprised Denmark wasn't higher than Norway

David H said:
Saturday, November 16, 2013 @ 10:22 AM

Success in language learning depends more on motivation than on an intellectual challenge to learn a foreign code.
It's obvious why English speakers don't generally invest a lot in choosing another language to learn; the pay-back for years of dedicated effort isn't sufficient.
On the other hand, for non-English speakers they are almost trapped in their own language and find it difficult to travel and work in other countries.
For aspirational young Spanish people it's going to be very different; just look at how courses in English and German are now attended because of new motivation.

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