which european countries speak the least english

German 63.7%, French 19.2%, Italian 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), However, in some remote areas, English spea… Student mobility is a crucial lever for improving linguistic competence. German is studied as a third language by more than half of the pupils in Denmark and Poland, while Spanish is studied by around half of the pupils in France. If at all you would want to work and live in an exotic place, Vietnam can be ideal for you. All or nearly all (99-100 %) primary school pupils in Cyprus, Malta, Austria and Spain learnt English as a foreign language in 2018, as was also the case in Liechtenstein, Norway and North Macedonia. India is hands down the cheapest English speaking country to live in, to travel, or to retire, and it claims to be the world’s second largest English speaking country. English proficiency in European countries in 2019 Knowledge of other languages among young people in the EU 2018, by country Knowledge of other languages among young people in the European Union 2018 According to Nathalie Baïdak, coordinator of analysis and research for EACEA, the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency leading programs and activities on behalf of the European Commission, the reality is a complex mosaic. French is studied as a third language by more than 50 per cent of lower secondary students in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Portugal. English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken. The Least-Visited European Countries. Multilingualism is one of the founding principles of the European Union. In many countries – including Italy – third languages are starting to be learned. It is one of six languages of the United Nations and the second most widely-spoken language in the European Union. For example, nearly every country in Europe, from France and Germany to Moldova and San Marino, has a massive number of proficient English speakers. Though English is listed as an official language in these countries, many people may not speak English. This list could include Switzerland (four official languages) or Belgium (three official languages), but, like most multilingual countries on the continent, they contain many monolingual speakers in somewhat segregated communities. Which countries speak French? ___ Official and Spoken Languages of European Countries. To this end, the European Union has promised to invest as much as 30 billion euro between 2021 and 2027 to make the programme more inclusive. I know this all too well, having lived and worked in many new countries in my life. In May 2019, the Official Journal of the European Union published the “Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages ”. Islands of Fiji – Pacific Island Lifestyle That Speaks Your Langauge. But Spain's not the worst place to be without a phrasebook; that'd be Hungary, where just 20% can chat in English -- making it the European country least proficient in … Prior to moving to a new place, the number one fear faced by expatsis… the language barrier. French is in second place (33 per cent of pupils), followed by German (23 per cent) and Spanish (17 per cent). Liechtenstein. However, as in the rest of Europe, language learning in Italy varies from region to region. The EU Council’s stated goal is as simple as it is fascinating and ambitious: it is essential for EU citizens to know at least two languages other than their mother tongue. Countries where people are least likely to be able to speak any foreign language are Hungary (65%), Italy (62%), the UK and Portugal (61% in each), and Ireland (60%). Across Europe, students typically begin studying their first foreign language as a required school subject between the ages of 6 and 9. “In this light, Italy is showing signs of improvement. Then there are other very important instruments to consider for effective language learning at school. List of English Speaking Countries. Luxembourg, however, can pride itself on being the exception. “On the other hand, looking at the data we see that the differences between countries are enormous, and there’s still a lot of work to do to improve the study of second foreign languages.”. English Speaking Countries in Africa. In this sense, the spread of the internet and streaming video has provided great help to the learning of languages, especially English. ), broader exposure to the languages needs to be encouraged – for example, showing foreign films that are subtitled instead of dubbed, as they do in northern countries. A popular stereotype of Americans traveling abroad is the tourist who is at a loss when it comes to coping with any language other than English. Sweden 53.97%. Finland 45.25%. This makes sense since communism only fell about 20 years ago. Thus, beyond strengthening language education in schools (investing in teacher training, improving the continuity between elementary and middle school, etc. In 1951, back in the days of the European Coal and Steel Community, the six founding nations – Italy, France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – recognised four official languages: Italian, French, German and Dutch. Take note. Let’s start with Europe. For example, in 2003 compulsory English classes began to start from the first year of primary school. However, it’s not enough to simply measure how many pupils take lessons in foreign languages. Living in Vietnam is usually budget-friendly meeting every traveler’s dream. In May 2019, the Official Journal of the European Union published the “Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages ”. #2 Denmark. 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%. According to research, it is one of the best and the cheapest countries to live and travel. Over the years, other languages were added with the creation and growth of the European Union, reaching a total of 24 official languages, and more than 60 minority and regional languages. Currently, getting European citizens to learn more languages is still just a project on paper. It comes before the fear of being too far away from friends and family, and way before things like culture shock or lesser healthcare and infrastructure standards. language), French (administrative language), German (administrative language). Among the top ten countries on this list, only one, Singapore, is in Asia. 51%) including 65,478,252 native speakers and 191,397,968 non-native speakers, and would be ranked 2nd if it were included. A look at the first comparative study of language competence among European pupils, published in June 2012, reveals drastic differences. The following is a list of countries and territories where English is an official … Some budget travellers avoid Europe because they don’t believe there are any cheap European countries to visit, but that’s simply not true. The combined total English-speaking population (2012) is 256,876,220 (out of a total population of 500,000,000, i.e. Most African countries have many different official languages. I lived in Moscow and very … Unsurprisingly, according to Eurostat English is the most spoken and known foreign language in the European Union, and the one most commonly studied language in primary and lower secondary school (by around 98 per cent of pupils). Italian is studied by 57 per cent of pupils in Malta, ten per cent in Croatia and four per cent in France. Looking at the Eurostat data , little more than half of European citizens claim to be able to hold a conversation in a second language. While the continent is home to some budget-busting destinations like France, Ireland and Norway, there are also some culture-filled, cheap European countries that can be visited on $50 / day or less. The Nordic countries are famous for their English speaking skills and the next four countries on this list are all from the Nordic region. Netherlands 38.46%. With 15 million English Speakers, about 90 percent of the entire population in the Netherlands speak English. Cyprus Cyprus has a higher average salary and more English speaking residents than Spain as well as a plentiful array... 3. Are you an ambitious language learner who wants to travel to places where you won't be able to use English as a crutch? A similar picture emerges from the international PISA study (Programme for International Student Assessment), where pupils in northern Italy earn results higher than the OECD average, while results gradually drop and eventually fall below the OECD average as we move further south. Hindi is one of the widely spoken languages in the World. On the European Day of Languages, a new report has found just eleven EU countries are teaching 90% or more of their students in lower secondary education a second language. Besides, it has stunning landscapes and delicious delicacies, which attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe. With the expansion of the European Community to nine states, the number of official languages also grew: in 1973 English and Danish were added, as were Greek, Spanish and Portuguese in the 1980s. To compile this list of least-visited European countries, I used data from the annual UNTWO Tourism … Europe is a continent with many countries (about 50) and almost each country has its own language, known as the national language. There are about 76 million native French speakers and 274 million fluent French speakers worldwide. Some countries have even more than one national language. Some countries, including Italy, don’t appear in the study (they are set to appear in the next study in the coming years). “On the one hand we’re seeing an encouraging drop in the age at which language learning begins. As for the Russians, they speak English the least. Gibraltar It is written in Devanagari Script. It is understood by the European institutions as either the capacity of a single individual to express themselves in other languages (plurilingualism), or the coexistence of different linguistic communities in a specific geographic area. 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