2.2 million young people aged 18 to 20 in schools, companies or government institutions who do not have English as their first language were involved in the testing. In the Czech Republic, 2,400 people took the test this year.
According to the result, the countries were then classified into a five-point scale. Slovaks and Czechs were placed in the second level “high level”.
The Netherlands is the best
In an international comparison, the Czechs have reached the company of Malaysia, Nigeria and Argentina. From European countries, Estonians, Serbs, Swiss and Georgians are closest to them.
Czechs have improved their English, but their neighbors are doing better
For a long time, the Dutch have the best command of English. They are followed by Singapore and Austria. The top ten also includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, South Africa and Germany. Croats and Greeks also reached a very high level.
The bottom ranks were occupied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tajikistan and Yemen.
Global Decline in English Proficiency
According to the authors of the survey, there has recently been a global decline in English proficiency, which they attribute to the covid pandemic.
“In language teaching, it is necessary to use the language actively, to try to communicate, even with mistakes, and this possibility has not been here for a long time. Schools and students are catching up, but they are not moving forward. This is also to blame for our stagnation and decline in the ranking,” said Sabina Wyrobová from the Czech branch of Education First, which covers the project.
It is said that the situation in the Czech Republic would be improved by more frequent use of extracurricular courses.
“Although the low level of English teaching in primary schools has been discussed for a long time, Czech children use quality language teaching outside the public sector much less compared to other European countries. In secondary schools and in adulthood, it is difficult for them to catch up with their knowledge of the language,” added Wyrobová.
The survey also found that employee expertise is increasing globally. An upward trend is visible since 2015. “Unfortunately, the differences between men and women are increasing, with men’s knowledge of English improving (+14 points) and women’s knowledge decreasing (-19 points) since 2014.” However, gender differences are not even. 63 countries have reached or are approaching gender parity, but the Czech Republic has not,” the report states.
