Thailand ranked 55th in English proficiency
In a 60-nation ranking released last week, the Education First Institute put Thailand 55th on the English Proficiency Index.
The ranking was based on the results of an Internet-based English Proficiency test taken by 750,000 people from 60 countries. All respondents were of working age.
Dr Krissanapong Kirtikara, a vice chair of Thailand’s Quality Warning Foundation, mentioned the ranking at an academic seminar yesterday.
According to him, Malaysia ranks 11th, Singapore 12th and India 21st.
Test takers from Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan and |China ranked 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 33rd and 34th |respectively, according to the institute.
“Reports show that people with greater English proficiency have higher income,” Krissanapong said.
He also emphasised the need for Thailand to improve its English-teaching standards in order to boost competitiveness ahead of the launch of the Asean Economic Community.
