Low English proficiency an obstacle to growth in Asia

By Arno Maierbrugger

Gulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

Inefficient education systems and lacking language skill training can prove a major obstacle for several East Asian countries to maintain its economic growth trajectory, studies reveal. When EF Education First, a language training company headquartered in Switzerland, recently released its latest English Proficiency Index 2014 which ranks English skills of selected nations globally, it showed that countries such as Thailand and Cambodia are still listed in the “very low English proficiency” category, with Vietnam and China only doing slightly better, and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia just being placed in the “moderate proficiency” category. Only Malaysia and Singapore made into the “high proficiency” category. The study does not include the Philippines, though, a country known for its high-level of English language skills.

“English is a powerful platform for professional, cultural and economic exchange,” says Christopher McCormick, senior VP of academic affairs at Education First, but he added that there are several countries in the region that aren’t progressing with English proficiency in a pace that would be necessary to maintain their international competitiveness. This is especially alarming as English proficiency is a key indicator of a nation’s economic ability, with clear correlations between English skills and income, quality of life, ease of doing business and international trade, the study notes.

A November 2014 report by consultancy McKinsey Global Institute mentioned that these pitfalls need to be addressed by Southeast Asian nations to capture a larger share of the world’s trade in goods and services through cross-border trade. Not just English, but also other soft skills in demand in a knowledge economy need to be improved, McKinsey said.

“Education systems will need to emphasise the skills required in a more digital economy, focusing broadly on digital literacy and English proficiency while also cultivating enough deep analytical talent,” the report stated, especially in sight of the fact that “the region’s cross-border flows will deepen and accelerate if the ambitious ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) integration plan is successfully implemented (by the end of 2015).”

The constantly low ranking of Thailand in the English proficiency list is an especially embarrassing fact. The country has the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia as per GDP and welcomes more than 26mn tourists per year, but even high school graduates and university students find it hard to converse in English. Foreign English teachers in the country blame this on a colossal failure of the Thai education system and its antiquated teaching methods, the perception of English as being a “threat” to the national language and the general lack of confidence in the nation’s schools.

But at the same time, graduates are complaining that they are not finding well-paid jobs in multinational industries, ignoring the fact that their English skills and general approach to services are not up to the level an international company demands. For example, Swedish clothing retailer H&M, which recently expanded to Thailand and pays double the official minimum salary for retail staff, has troubles to employ English-speaking personnel as few high-school graduates make it through the three-stage hiring process that includes written and oral English tests.

Although there is much rhetoric by the currently ruling military junta to make an education system reform in Thailand a priority, not much action is visible. Thailand remains at the bottom of other educational rankings such as the latest WEF education report, the most recent PISA rankings and the English language proficiency index of the IMD World Competitiveness report.

However, in defence of Thailand, English proficiency in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries isn’t much better either, at least according to EF Education First. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia rank even lower than Thailand, Qatar a little better, but only the UAE made it at least into the “low proficiency” category.