LETTERS: I refer to the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) 2023 scores published recently. I'm proud to see Malaysia in the 'High' proficiency band, with Kuala Lumpur ranked highly in the city category.
It is a boost to Malaysia, as we are ranked third in Asia and 25th in the world. And we outranked Hong Kong, South Korea and India, with a ranking of 60th!
This 2022 study found that 26- to 30-year-olds have the highest level of English language mastery. This is to be accepted up to a certain point as the participation of the younger adult respondents was small.
As for the decline in the youth proficiency level, we should be more understanding as there is a need to consider the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2020, the pandemic and its aftermath have had an effect on education worldwide, including in the workplace and in terms of social wellbeing.
It is also interesting that aviation, media, sports, entertainment and professional services have very high proficiency levels.
Food and beverages, information technology, education and engineering are among those in the 'High' proficiency band as well.
This calls for continuous monitoring and analysis of the professions. We will benefit if Malaysians can improve the scores further, leading to better results in the next round of the EF EPI report.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR ADELINA ASMAWI
Head, Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times