The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – According to the English Proficiency Index 2014 (EPI), prepared by Education First (EF), Costa Rica’s English proficiency is “low” because of a possible 100 points, Costa Ricans only scored 48.5 points. This rating places the country at position 43 of 63 countries surveyed, which is 6 places lower than last year.
The index measures the skills of writing, listening and reading English for people whose mother tongue is another language. However, conversation capabilities are not measured due to a wide range of variables.
Regarding the country’s position in the index, Biasetti explained that this decline is not because Tico’s language skills have deteriorated, but because other countries are getting better this year. What is worrying for the manager is that the rating is borderline “very low”.
In Latin America, Costa Rica ranked above Venezuela, El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala, but was below the Dominican Republic and Mexico, with Argentina as the leader in the region.
In almost every country in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, however, there were low or very low levels of English proficiency for most countries.
People between 25 and 34 obtained better scores, 52 points on average, while those over 55 are below the global average, as were people between 18 and 24 years.
The results follow from the online surveys were collected from late 2013 to mid-2014.
EF performs these tests for free so that people can learn their level of English knowledge. People can take it online, but EF also evaluates company personnel as well as private companies and public schools.
Globally, Danish adults are the best English-speaking population in the world, followed by the Dutch and Swedes.
The report concludes that English skills remain a key indicator of economic competitiveness and is closely related to income, quality of life, and business security. (Source: Crhoy)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica