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While Europe Excels at Learning English, Spain Lags Behind

Graham Keeley

   MADRID - Lorenzo Beteta directed the last Star Wars trilogy as well as
   the children's smash hit Frozen but most people have probably have
   never heard of him.

   That is because he is a dubbing director who makes it appear as if
   Darth Vader always spoke Spanish rather than the language of
   Shakespeare.

   The dubbing plays a large role in Spain where many films, television
   series or even advertisements are rendered in Spanish, not the original
   language.

   Its traditional prominence in cultural life, some scholars believe, is
   part of the reason Spaniards struggle to learn English.

   A recent report by the foreign language company Education First, EF,
   which judged proficiency in English, placed Spaniards at the bottom of
   the ladder compared to the rest of the European Union.

   Poor grades

   The annual report's findings have given Spaniards' consistently bad
   marks in recent years, as have similar reports by Eurostat, the EU's
   statistical office.

   About 45.8% of Spaniards between 25 and 64 could not speak a foreign
   language, according to a Eurostat report from 2016, the most recent
   data. In contrast, in Portugal, only 31% were unable to speak a foreign
   language, while in Greece the figure was 33% and Italy 34%.

   According to experts, Spaniards' difficulty learning English can be
   explained in part by the size of the country, its relatively low GDP
   and number of people who speak Spanish worldwide.

   Other critics put it down to faults in the education system and
   cultural quirks like dubbing.

   The EF report said Spain, like France and Italy, were among developed
   countries in Europe where the ability to master English continued to
   lag behind other parts of the continent.

   "The gap in English proficiency is particularly concerning because both
   Italy and Spain suffer from high rates of unemployment, particularly
   among the young, and could desperately use the new economic
   opportunities that faster, smoother communications with the rest of
   Europe would bring," the report said.

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