this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2025
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[–] chonomaiwokurae@sopuli.xyz 11 points 7 hours ago (8 children)

It’s hard to believe Germany is so high on the list. I visit regularly and even worked there for a while, where are all the fluent English speakers hiding?

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Where in Germany? This coulf be a latent East/West divide.

[–] chonomaiwokurae@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 hours ago

Ruhrpott and Düsseldorf.

[–] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 13 points 6 hours ago

The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries by the equity of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test. It is the product of EF Education First, an international education company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet. The index is an online survey first published in 2011based on test data from 1.7 million test takers. The most recent edition was released in November 2023.

Wikipedia.org

So the data is not representative for the entire population of a country.

[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Currently in university or so, and there is a large countryside vs. city gap.

In my experience there has been a relatively recent massive improvement in English skills by the younger generation. Anyone 35+ is still very much behind though. As an elder Millenial myself, it actually caught me on a wrong foot carreerwise as being able to speak English well is no longer considered to be a selection criteria for many jobs, because so many can do it and it is assume a given.

[–] chonomaiwokurae@sopuli.xyz 2 points 4 hours ago

I guess this (and the data being from a very selected part of population ie. test takers) would explain my experiences with Ruhrpott folks of around 30 to 70 years of age. I've met many people in their late thirties, some who even work in universities, unable or very uncomfortable in speaking English.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I don't know what study these numbers are based on, but many of them only assess certain (typically younger) age groups. In my experience, the people coming out of school today in Germany are often quite good in English.

Edit: Looked it up. The data are not based on any study but the results of test takers that aim to earn a certain language certificate. So no specific age group but still likely younger people. The sample is completely self-selected, though, so it's hard to say anything definitive. From the Wikipedia page:

The EF EPI 2024 edition was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2023. The test takers were self-selected. 116 countries and territories appear in this edition of the index. In order to be included, a country was required to have at least 400 test takers.

And more:

The EF English Proficiency Index has been the subject of criticism in literature. From the point of view of methodology, it suffers from self-selection bias. Instead of testing the level of English proficiency in the population, it tests the level of English of those who self-select.

This seems like a very poor basis for a country ranking.

[–] naught101@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Really? Nearly everyone I met there spoke excellent English..

[–] PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

Same with Austria. As a Dane living in Austria, it feels like nobody here has even half-decent English skills. It's horrible, and I blame generations of dubbed TV and movies.

[–] Bob@feddit.org 1 points 6 hours ago

Maybe English proficiency across the world isn’t as high as the internet would have you believe.

[–] p_kanarinac@retrolemmy.com 1 points 7 hours ago

I'm also confused. Maybe they just don't want to talk, that's the best explanation I have.