ecns [expanded by feedex.net]: Shanghai gets top marks in English exam

ecns [expanded by feedex.net]

ecns

Shanghai gets top marks in English exam
http://www.ecns.cn/2014/11-20/143444.shtml
Nov 20th 2014, 00:53

2014-11-20 08:53 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Qian Ruisha


Shanghai's adults are the best in China at English-language comprehension, according to the results of a survey released yesterday.


In an online test conducted last year by language training company EF Education First, the citizens of Shanghai demonstrated greater proficiency in listening to and reading English than anyone else in the country.


Beijing ranked second among Chinese cities, followed by Tianjin, Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to the survey.


Globally, about 750,000 adults from 63 countries and regions where English is not the native language took the test. This year's annual report was the fourth produced by EF, but the first to monitor performance across the whole of China.


According to a local academic, people in Chinese mainland cities performed well because of the nature of the test, which measured only listening and reading skills.


"Mainlanders are good at reading and writing, but not speaking," said Lu Jianfei, a professor at Shanghai Normal University.


"I believe the results might have been different if speaking and writing tests were included, as people in Hong Kong are generally much better at spoken and written English," he said.


Despite the impressive performance of Shanghai's adults, China as a whole did not fare so well. Of the 63 countries and regions monitored last year, it ranked just 37th, putting it firmly in the "low-proficiency" tier. In the previous year's report, it ranked 34th of 60.


Malaysia and Singapore performed best of the Asian nations taking part in the test, and remained the continent's only countries to make the "high proficiency" tier.


China again ranked behind Japan and South Korea, but more disappointingly fell below Indonesia, Vietnam and India on this year's table, all of which it outperformed in the inaugural test, which was published in 2011.


Globally, Denmark ranked first, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden, according to the survey.





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