Young People’s English Language Skills Decreasing

Young People’s English Language Skills Decreasing

年轻人的英语水平在下降

【听力音频】

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　　By Gena Bennett

　　09 January 2024

　　A recent index that measures English language ability around the world finds that young people's English language proficiency is decreasing.

　　The 2023 EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) ranks countries and areas by English proficiency. The index is based on test results from 2.2 million people in 113 countries. The test is published by EF Education First, a private company based in Switzerland. VOA Learning English has a partnership with EF Education First to provide the online test to English learners.

　　The EPI found that while young people's English skills are decreasing, working adults continue to increase their proficiency in English. There are different opinions about why the difference exists. Some people blame the COVID-19 pandemic, but others say artificial intelligence (or AI) tools could also be a reason.

　　EF Education First released the 2023 index last November. EF EPI author Kate Bell warned that the 2023 index gives a false sense of global stability, meaning English speakers' proficiency stays about the same. But the truth is that gains in some countries are being offset by losses in others, Bell said in an EF Education First press release.

　　Results by age group

　　Results were reported by age group for the first time in 2015. Since that time, the English proficiency of young people has decreased by 89 points. The EPI defines young people as being 18 to 20 years of age.

　　However, the EPI notes that the 18 to 20 group was mostly stable with big decreases in a few large countries. India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Japan showed the largest proficiency decreases among youth.

　　Kansuke Ikebe is a 21-year-old student from Shiga, Japan. He told VOA Learning English that the results are "really surprising. In my opinion, I've never felt it is decreasing. It is maybe because there are many youth who can speak English in my university."

　　The EPI report noted that the decrease appears to have taken place when the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with normal education. The report said, "It is not yet clear if learning loss due to Covid will self-correct over time," but increased scores are expected in the future.

　　The EPI said the problem is more difficult in countries where proficiency has been decreasing over time and "where education systems are teaching English less well than before."

　　There has been a decrease in proficiency in Japan for nearly 10 years. Ikebe said he could believe the EPI results because of the way English is taught in Japan. "It makes nobody want to learn English more. It is not practical at all and really boring."

　　However, working adults, people 26 years old and older, have been improving their English since 2015. The EPI said this might be because the value of a shared language is most recognized in the workplace. English creates possibilities for individuals and productivity for organizations.

　　Results by gender

　　Results from the index also show a difference between men and women, what it calls a gender gap. The gender gap among those aged 18 to 25 is three times bigger than it is among working adults. Men's proficiency has improved by 14 points since 2015, while women's has decreased by 19 points.

　　The lack of women in international jobs could be one reason for the gender gap the EPI said. But the gender gap among those aged 18 to 25 might demonstrate "a problem engendered by educational systems themselves or a societal problem schools are failing to address," the report said.

　　An exception was the Middle East. The average score for women in that area has increased by 44 points, placing them ahead of men there.

　　Lower average scores

　　One notable trend in the 2023 EF EPI is that all the very high proficiency countries and many of the high proficiency countries had lower average scores than in 2022. This could be a possible effect of the pandemic on learning, travel and in-person communication.

　　The Czech Republic is one country whose score dropped in 2023.

　　Sabina Wyrob is with the Czech office of EF Education First. She told the Czech News Agency online teaching during the pandemic affected children's English skills. Schools and students are trying to catch up on what was missed, she told the news organization, but they are still not moving forward.

　　The reach of AI

　　The EPI report says that learning a language provides understanding of new ideas as well as better understanding of people. These skills, the report said, remain beyond the reach of AI, or artificial intelligence.

　　But Ikebe said in Japan: "now AI and translation are being developed well. So, they don't need to learn English if they just do their homework. I think they don't use it as a tool to communicate, just a subject to pass the entrance exam."

　　Jeannie Tse is a country manager at EF Hong Kong and Macau. She spoke to The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong.

　　Tse said that while AI has changed the way young people work and learn, the importance of schools, teachers, and face-to-face instruction remains. "I do not believe that AI can completely replace language learning," Tse said, "but educators can harness AI to enhance language learning methods."

　　I'm Gena Bennett.

　　Gena Bennett wrote this story for VOA Learning English using information from EF Education First and other sources.

　　How well does your country speak English? Do you agree with the report's findings? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, on Facebook or Instagram."

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　　作者：吉娜·贝内特

　　日期：2024年1月9日

　　最近一项针对全球英语能力的指数发现，年轻人的英语水平正在下降。

　　2023年的EF英语熟练度指数（EPI）根据英语熟练度对各国和地区进行排名。该指数基于113个国家的220万人的测试结果。这项测试由总部位于瑞士的私营公司EF教育首席发布。美国之音学习英语与EF教育首席合作，为英语学习者提供在线测试。

　　EPI发现，尽管年轻人的英语技能正在下降，但在职成年人的英语熟练度却在持续提高。关于这种差异存在的原因，人们的观点不一。有些人将其归咎于COVID-19大流行，但也有人说人工智能（或AI）工具也可能是一个原因。

　　EF教育首席在去年11月发布了2023年的指数。EF EPI的作者凯特·贝尔警告说，2023年的指数给出了一种全球稳定的错误感觉，意味着英语使用者的熟练度大致保持不变。但事实是，一些国家的进步被其他国家的损失所抵消，贝尔在EF教育首席的新闻发布会上说。

　　按年龄组划分的结果

　　自2015年首次按年龄组报告结果以来，年轻人的英语熟练度已经下降了89点。EPI将18至20岁的人定义为年轻人。

　　然而，EPI指出，18至20岁的群体大体上是稳定的，只有在少数几个大国中有大幅度的下降。印度、印度尼西亚、墨西哥和日本的年轻人英语熟练度下降最大。

　　池部勘介是来自日本滋贺县的一名21岁学生。他告诉美国之音学习英语，这个结果“真的令人惊讶。在我看来，我从未感觉到它在下降。可能是因为在我的大学里有很多年轻人会说英语。”

　　EPI报告指出，这种下降似乎是在COVID-19大流行干扰了正常教育时发生的。报告称，“尚不清楚由于Covid导致的学习损失是否会随着时间的推移自我纠正”，但预计未来的分数会有所提高。

　　EPI表示，问题在那些熟练度随着时间的推移而下降的国家更为困难，这些国家的教育系统教授英语的能力比以前差。

　　日本的熟练度已经下降了近10年。池部说，他可以相信EPI的结果，因为这是日本教授英语的方式。“这让没有人想要更多地学习英语。它一点也不实用，而且真的很无聊。”

　　然而，26岁及以上的在职成年人自2015年以来一直在提高他们的英语水平。EPI表示，这可能是因为共享语言的价值在工作场所最为被认可。英语为个人创造了可能性，为组织提高了生产力。

　　按性别划分的结果

　　指数的结果还显示了男性和女性之间的差异，即所谓的性别差距。在18至25岁的人群中，性别差距比在职成年人中的大三倍。自2015年以来，男性的熟练度提高了14点，而女性的熟练度下降了19点。

　　EPI表示，国际工作中女性的缺乏可能是性别差距的一个原因。但是，18至25岁人群中的性别差距可能表明“这是教育系统本身产生的问题，或者是学校未能解决的社会问题”，报告称。

　　中东是一个例外。该地区女性的平均分数增加了44点，使她们超过了那里的男性。

　　平均分数下降

　　2023年EF EPI的一个显著趋势是，所有非常高熟练度的国家和许多高熟练度的国家的平均分数都低于2022年。这可能是大流行病对学习、旅行和面对面交流的可能影响。

　　捷克共和国就是一个在2023年分数下降的国家。

　　Sabina Wyrob是EF教育首席捷克办公室的一员。她告诉捷克新闻社，大流行期间的在线教学影响了孩子们的英语技能。她告诉新闻机构，学校和学生正在试图弥补错过的内容，但他们仍然没有前进。

　　AI的影响范围

　　EPI报告称，学习一门语言可以理解新的想法，以及更好地理解人。报告称，这些技能仍然超出了AI，或者说人工智能的影响范围。

　　但是在日本，Ikebe说：“现在AI和翻译正在得到良好的发展。所以，如果他们只是做作业，他们就不需要学习英语。我认为他们并不把它当作一种交流工具，只是一门通过入学考试的科目。”

　　Jeannie Tse是EF香港和澳门的国家经理。她接受了香港《标准报》的采访。

　　Tse表示，虽然AI改变了年轻人的工作和学习方式，但学校、教师和面对面的教学仍然很重要。"我不认为AI可以完全取代语言学习，" Tse说，"但教育工作者可以利用AI来增强语言学习方法。"

　　我是Gena Bennett。

　　Gena Bennett使用EF教育首席和其他来源的信息为VOA学习英语写了这个故事。

　　你的国家英语说得怎么样？你同意报告的发现吗？我们想听到你的声音。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　proficiency–n. 熟练度，语言的使用能力或知识

　　stable—adj. 稳定的，保持不变的

　　practical –adj. 实际的，与现实有关的，而非想象或可能性

　　boring –adj. 无聊的，不感兴趣的

　　gender—n. 性别，男性或女性

　　gap—n. 间隙，两者之间的空隙

　　engender—v. 引起，导致

　　translation –n. 翻译，将一种语言的文字转换为另一种语言

　　harness—v. 控制并利用

　　enhance –v. 提高，增强，增加某事物