TODAY COLOMBIA – According to the English Proficiency Index produced by Education First, Colombia remains in the e “very low proficiency” group.
The index, which the global English teaching business Education First publishes annually, defines three levels of proficiency in 70 countries worldwide.
In the world rankings, Colombia is ranked 57th.
Colombia hopes to reverse the trend. Colombia is also investing in English training. President Juan Manuel Santos announced in July 2014 that his government will invest US$690 million dollars over the next 10 years to increase the number of university graduates with a B2 level of English, train 12,000 English teachers, and subsidize private English lessons for 40,000 professionals.
With its low levels of spending on public education and weak English skills, Colombia still has many opportunities to improve proficiency.
In Latin America, Argentina was at the top with a “Very High Proficiency”, followed by the Dominican Republic. El Salvador was at the bottom. Overall Argentina placed 15th, while the Dominican Republic was 24th.
According to the EPI, Latin America has been on a positive trajectory since 2007, but adult English proficiency remains weak in the region. Of the 14 Latin American countries featured in this index, all but one have improved since last year. However, with the exception of two countries, Latin American English proficiency is low.
The EPI Average in Latin America is: 51.26.
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See full report by EF Education First.
