English Proficiency in Asia
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proficiency – high level of skill
While I was doing my research on English proficiency in Asia yesterday, I found an article by Asia Correspondent, an English language news website.
The article is entitled “Which Asian country speaks the best English?”, which is about the English Proficiency Index for 2017.
According to the Index, Singapore is the most proficient at English in Asia with “very high proficiency”. Next are Malaysia and Philippines with “high proficiency”. India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Vietnam have “moderate proficiency”; while China, Japan, Thailand, Macau, and Taiwan have “low proficiency”.
Considering Singapore’s level of education, I wasn’t surprised when I found out it’s the best in Asia. However, I was surprised to see Thailand in the “low proficiency” group because it’s a very famous destination for many tourists, so I thought people there can speak English well. But I guess, in a few years or so, more people there will be able to speak English just like in many places around the world.