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Adults in the Netherlands are the best non-native English speakers, a new report released Tuesday says. The report also says that Iraq has fallen to last place. The private education company Education First (EF) released the 2016 English Proficiency Index report. The English Proficiency Index is based on the online test scores of 950,000 adults from 72 countries. The results do not show the English ability of a country’s entire population. They are based on people who took an online test, the EF Standard English Test (EFSET), during 2015. You can take the test online for free. The study is the sixth produced by EF. It is a yearly report that examines the English knowledge level of adults from 72 countries. It has found most areas in the world are continuing to improve their English language ability. The report also says that English language remains an important part for a country’s economic power.
* adult = 성인, 어른/ non-native = (어떤 언어의 사용자가) 모국어 사용자가 아닌/ release = (대중들에게) 공개[발표]하다/ proficiency = 숙달, 능숙, 능란/ (be) based on ~ = ~에 근거[기반]를 두다/ economic power = 경제력
According to EF Director of Research Min Tran, one quality the highest-ranking countries share is a strong education system. However, he says that may not be enough. “However, another very important factor is whether your country has an English speaking environment. If you go to Singapore today, you hear English on the streets. You hear Singaporean youngsters mixing Chinese, Malay, and English. Singaporeans are watching TV, watching films, listening to music in English...” Tran also said the report has found a gender difference in English ability. “You look at the genders, women are better than men. And we’ve seen that in nearly every country, every age group, every industry even when you look at business English. Women are just consistently outperforming men.”
* according to ~ = ~에 따르면[의하면]/ quality = 특성, 특징/ factor = 요인, 인자/ gender difference = 성차(性差)/ nearly = 거의/ consistently = 일관하여, 지속적으로/ outperform = 더 나은 결과를 내다, 능가하다
