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How do different countries and regions of the world rank in terms of language acquisition success?

Gusta Scrowton

Hey there!

That's a really interesting and complex question you've posed. Language acquisition success can be influenced by a variety of factors, including socio-economic status, culture, educational resources, and linguistic diversity within a given country or region. Here's what I've found:

First of all, it's important to note that there has been limited research conducted on a global scale to measure language acquisition success. However, some studies have attempted to compare language proficiency and education outcomes across different countries and regions.

One such study is the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science in participating countries. PISA also evaluates language proficiency in the students' mother tongue and in foreign languages.

According to the most recent PISA results from 2018, the top-ranking countries in terms of overall reading proficiency were China (specifically, the regions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang), Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Canada, and Finland. These countries also tend to rank highly in terms of foreign language learning (particularly English). Meanwhile, countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, and the Philippines had noticeably lower reading proficiency scores.

However, it's worth noting that language acquisition success is not solely determined by proficiency in English or other dominant world languages. Many countries and regions have rich linguistic diversity and value multilingualism.

For example, some European countries such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium have multiple official languages and high levels of multilingualism among their citizens. In Africa, countries such as Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa have many indigenous languages in addition to colonial languages such as English and French.

Furthermore, in some countries with less economic or educational resources, bilingualism or multilingualism may be a necessity for survival. For instance, in Guatemala, many indigenous Mayan languages are still widely spoken and may be the only means of communication for certain communities.

Overall, measuring language acquisition success on a global scale is a complex task and requires considering a variety of factors. While certain countries may rank highly in terms of reading or foreign language proficiency, it's important to remember the value and diversity of multilingualism across the globe.

Hope this information helps!