There are over sixty official languages in Europe. The continent’s linguistic diversity is constantly enriched by migration. English, however, is the main language of communication and the level of proficiency varies widely from country to country. In general, people in the north of Europe speak English better than those in the south. There are many theories about why this is, starting with education.
Eurydice report
Learning English from an early age is encouraged by educational institutions. The European Commission periodically publishes a report by Eurydice called ‘Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe’. The latest edition issued in 2017 found that students started learning a foreign language earlier compared to a decade before. Over 80 per cent of primary school children studied at least one other language. Nearly all students studied English during their secondary education.
However, the Eurydice report also showed that Mediterranean countries start learning a foreign language around six or seven years old, while Germany and Finland start at eight or nine. Children in the Netherlands start even later, at over ten years of age. So, while improving the overall level of English, it does not account for the discrepancy in proficiency between north and south.
Language roots
Other theories point to the origins of the local language. English is a Germanic language. Others of Germanic origin, like German, the Scandinavian languages and Dutch, are therefore closer to English than Latin languages like Spanish and Italian. Learning English is more intuitive for a Norwegian than for a Spaniard.
There are also cultural explanations. People are less exposed to English in countries where foreign films and TV programmes are dubbed. English dominates the western movie industry. It stands to reason that people who watch them in the original version – albeit with subtitles – get to hear English on a regular basis.
In fact, this is so much the case that many English words insert themselves into everyday vocabulary. Dutch, for example, is peppered with Anglicisms like ‘computer’, ‘shopping’, ‘chill’, ‘homemade’ and ‘random’. Many are subjected to Dutch grammar, so ‘shopping’ becomes a verb: ‘shoppen’ (the original Dutch word is ‘winkelen’).
European league table
Whatever the cause, the most recent data shows that it is a fact. Northern Europe is better at English than the south of the continent. An international league table published by education company Education First (EF) in 2021 rated Scandinavia, Germany and Belgium as countries with very high proficiency.
The good news is that the Education First study, based on test results of two million adults in 112 countries and regions, shows Europe’s English proficiency overall is getting better. Top of the list is the Netherlands, followed by Austria. Spain is number 33 and Italy is number 35, with moderate proficiency. Not far above is France, at number 31. Ukraine has the lowest score in Europe, at number 40. Portugal, however, a southern European country with Latin language roots, scores within the top 10. Then again, movies are not dubbed but subtitled in Portugal.
www.ef.com/epi