Only three other countries from East or Southeast Asia scored lower on the global ranking.

Every year since 2011, Switzerland-based international education company Education First (EF) has released an English Proficiency Index (EPI), the largest of its kind throughout the world. EF’s recently released 2024 EPI compiles the testing results of 2.1 million people from 116 countries and regions for which English is not considered the mother tongue. Exams were scored out of 800 points and the average score among all test takers this year was 477 points. Countries and regions were then grouped into five proficiency bands that indicate relative English ability: Very high proficiency, High proficiency, Moderate proficiency, Low proficiency, and Very low proficiency.

So where did Japan rank on the list? This year’s global ranking puts Japan at 92 (average score: 454 points), which is at the very bottom of the Low proficiency band. This placement is worse than its ranking last year at 87 and continues the trend of a steady decline for the country since the EF EPI began. In addition, when the Japanese testing data was further broken down by age, test takers aged 18-25 performed significantly lower than those aged 26 and up, many of whom may need to use English more at work.

For reference, the Netherlands scored first place out of all 116 countries and regions on the 2024 EF EPI. The top Asia scorer was Singapore at 3 (Very high proficiency), followed by the Philippines at 22 and Malaysia at 26 (High proficiency). Japan’s East Asian neighbors, South Korea and China, scored at 50 (Moderate proficiency) and at 91 (Low proficiency) respectively. The only countries in East or Southeast Asia that scored lower than Japan were Myanmar at 93, Thailand at 106, and Cambodia at 111 (all Very low proficiency). Note, however, that neither Laos nor North Korea were included in the EPI because they did not meet the minimum number of 400 required test takers per country or region. The full EPI results as well as EF’s strategy recommendations to improve English proficiency in a variety of settings can be viewed on its website.

In response to Japan’s relatively low placement, a representative from EF’s Japanese subsidiary offered the following remarks: “It’s not that Japan’s English ability is declining, but rather that Japan is not keeping pace with the progress made in other countries.”

As someone who has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in the U.S. and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Japan, I have observed some of the unique challenges that English language education faces in Japan. General factors that my colleagues and I, both native English speakers as well as Japanese teachers of English, often cite include: a heavy emphasis on grammar for test taking as opposed to oral communication, instructors not meeting language proficiency benchmarks due to the myriad of responsibilities on teachers’ plates, and a decrease in motivation–especially as a result of the pandemic–resulting in Japanese students simply not feeling that English is all that necessary to live and work in Japan.

Consequently, perhaps the government of Japan should focus next on promoting those strategies that seem to result in higher language-learning motivation–for instance, by calling on virtual YouTuber Ellen-sensei for the kids or by holding language classes at English-speaking-only bars for adults.

Source: Yahoo! Japan News via Itai News
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