However inaccurate, latest English ranking is bad news for Thailand
Re: “We need better studies of English proficiency”, Letters, December 15.
The writer raises doubts about the Education First English Proficiency Index after it ranked South Koreans (27) and Japanese (30) higher than residents of Hong Kong (33), even though the latter was under British control for a century.
My guess is that an influx of mainlanders since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 may have “diluted” English proficiency there. The writer, however, turns a blind eye to other former British colonies that achieved impressive rankings: Singapore (12), Malaysia (14) and India (20).
She or he also got a bit carried away in saying that South Korea and Japan ranked better than the Philippines. In fact, the Philippines is not even on the EF index, as it is considered an English-speaking country.
Other results worth mentioning are Vietnam (29), Taiwan (31) Indonesia (32), China (47), Thailand (62) and Cambodia (69).
Somsak Pola
