A recent report from Education First (EF) ranks the level of English spoken across 60 countries worldwide; in short, things don’t look good for Latin America, which is the worst-performing region worldwide in terms of proficiency. Of the 16 countries EF has designated to have a “Very Low Level” of English, an equal percentage (44%) were divided between Latin America (including Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala) and the Middle East. Five Latin American countries (Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Uruguay) obtained a slightly higher distinction as having a “Low Level” of English. The only Latin American country that obtained a “Medium Level” of English proficiency within the report was Argentina. The report concludes: “A poor level of English is still one of the most important competitive weaknesses in Latin America.”
Luckily, there are a couple of entrepreneurs that are making strides in turning this all around.