beyondbrics

When the British Council published a study saying China had more English speakers than India readers with experience of both countries wondered aloud where China was hiding all those Anglophones. Even in Shanghai, with its British colonial past, taxi drivers are about as likely to speak English as they are to obey traffic signs; neither has really caught on.

Now comes another study about how China is drawing neck and neck with India – and eroding the comparative advantage of the sub-continent.

EF, Education First, the international education company, on Wednesday published what it claims is “the world’s first index to compare the English-language ability of adults in different countries”.  Based on free online tests completed  by 2m adults around the world, the index ranks China and India almost  equal. You can read the report here: www.ef.com/epi/download-full-report/

Neither country will be delighted to find that they are neck and neck in having only “low proficiency” in English. But given China’s comparative strength in physical infrastructure, any sign that the mainland might have eroded its comparative disadvantage with India in language skills will surely be welcome in Beijing.

EF admits that its rankings – which are based on the results of voluntary, free online tests used as a marketing tool for its English courses – are scarcely a measure of the linguistic skills of the entire population. At best, the index measures “the English skills of adults who aspire to have better English” – already a self-selected class.

But the results are surprising nonetheless – and feed that fashionable sense of Western insecurity that has caught on since the OECD recently announced that Shanghai has the world’s smartest 15 year olds . They may not be much at English chit-chat (Chinese schools are notorious for thinking language has nothing to do with communication), but one thing seems clear: they are born knowing how to spell Tiger Mother.

Related reading:
China catches up with India in race to speak English, FT
Why are Chinese schoolkids so good? beyondbrics
Shanghai schools experiment with less work, more play, beyondbrics