Brazil occupies 58th position among the 111 countries evaluated in English domain

Argentina, Costa Rica and Cuba achieved outstanding scores in the English Proficiency Index, a report by the EF company that studies how and where the language level is developing in the world🇧🇷 O Brazil occupies the 58th position among 111 countries, and has a “moderate” level of the language, with 505 points, out of a total of 700.

The report, which measured English proficiency in 111 nations and included tests from 2.1 million people, showed positive results in Central and South America, as these regions “have considerably improved their level of English in the last decade”, according to the report, and that the improvement in English proficiency is “one of the best in the world and virtually homogeneous”.

However, the report says, grades among young people have dropped significantly since 2020, a cause the report cites as school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The data coincides with a 2022 UNESCO report that says the Covid-19 pandemic “closed schools around the world, disrupting the education of 1.6 billion students at its peak and exacerbating gender inequalities”.

This report only measures the level of English where English is not the native language.

English proficiency in Latin America is “low” compared to other regions such as Europe and Asia, and higher than in regions such as Africa and the Middle East, according to the report.

In terms of cities, Buenos Aires and San José also stand out among those with the highest level of proficiency in English, followed by Santiago, Chile.

Score and ranking

Scores are measured from 1 to 800 points, and are assigned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR, level range (bands known as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), to delimit groups with a similar level of English and compare them to each other according to EF.

• The classification “very high” corresponds to level C1;
• The classification “high” and “moderate” corresponds to level B2;
• The “low” classification corresponds to the B1 level;
• The “very low” classification corresponds to the A2 level.

The average age of people surveyed who provided information was 25 years old.

The tests were only carried out on people who voluntarily agreed and only included cities where there were more than 400 people tested, so, according to EF, “it is not guaranteed to be representative”.

Countries with the best command of English

Globally, the Netherlands, Singapore and Austria were the countries with the highest English proficiency scores, with “Very High” proficiency.

In Latin America, Argentina ranked as the highest ranked country with “high” English proficiency with a score of 562 points out of 700. It is the only one with a “high” score among 20 Latin American countries. And it ranks 30th out of 111 countries in the world where the tests were done.

Then Costa Rica, which qualified with a “moderate” dominance and a score of 536 points. It occupies the 37th position in the ranking. Its capital, San José, has a “high” domain and scored slightly higher than the country as a whole (558 points).

In third place is Cuba, whose score is 536 points and occupies the 38th place in the world ranking of proficiency in English, with Havana among the cities that have a “moderate” command of English, according to this ranking.

In contrast, five countries scored “low” in English, scoring below 500 points (out of 700): Nicaragua, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Of this group, Nicaragua and Ecuador were the countries that showed the greatest tendency towards language improvement, according to the report.

And finally, there are Mexico and Haiti, which obtained a classification of “very low” with a score below 450 points.

The countries in the world with the lowest English proficiency ratings are Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Laos.

Check the ranking of Latin America among the 111 countries:

high domain

• 30. Argentina

moderate domain

• 37. Costa Rica
• 38. Cuba
• 43. Paraguay
• 44. Bolivia
• 45. Chile
• 49. Uruguay
• 50. El Salvador
• 51. Turkey
• 53. Dominican Republic
• 58. Brazil
• 58.Guatemala

low domain

• 61. Nicaragua
• 67. Venezuela
• 75. Panama
• 77. Colombia
• 82. Ecuador

Very low

• 88. Mexico
• 98. Haiti

The importance of learning a second language

The report points out the importance of learning English as a second language due to the fact that almost a third of the world’s population speaks the same language, and also has technological connectivity “to share knowledge regardless of geographic limitations”.

For this reason, says the report, learning English “provides opportunities for people to work, learn and share their experiences more widely”.

And this is evidenced by a challenge: expanding access to opportunities, either through technology, or by having more teachers who speak English well, or by making it attractive in schools in rural or low-income areas.

Technology is also a factor that has increased the supply and demand for learning English.

Furthermore, the report adds that learning English and the interest in acquiring this knowledge is not due to the fact that the language has any inherent value. Rather, the study says, it is “a conglomeration of historical and current economic and technological circumstances”, adding that “the current moment is a classic example of the network effect: the more people speak English, the more useful it becomes and, therefore, a positive feedback loop enters.

(Posted by Anna Gabriela Costa of CNN)