English: Who speaks English? | The Economist - 3 views
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This was not a statistically controlled study: the subjects took a free test online and of their own accord.
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But Philip Hult, the boss of EF, says that his sample shows results similar to a more scientifically controlled but smaller study by the British Council.
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Several factors correlate with English ability. Wealthy countries do better overall. But smaller wealthy countries do better still: the larger the number of speakers of a country’s main language, the worse that country tends to be at English.
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Export dependency is another correlate with English. Countries that export more are better at English (though it’s not clear which factor causes which).
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Teaching plays a role, too. Starting young, while it seems a good idea, may not pay off: children between eight and 12 learn foreign languages faster than younger ones, so each class hour on English is better spent on a 10-year-old than on a six-year-old.
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Teaching plays a role, too. Starting young, while it seems a good idea, may not pay off: children between eight and 12 learn foreign languages faster than younger ones, so each class hour on English is better spent on a 10-year-old than on a six-year-old.
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R.L.G. (2011.04.05) suggests a large-scale study of an uncontrolled sample population "confirms ... stereotypes" (¶1), and "shows results similar to ... [an unspecified] study by the British Council" (¶3 [URL from original, retrieved 2011.04.14).
