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I'm genuinely shocked only 43% know English as an additional language. I guess it depends on what level of knowledge they're looking for.

by xxpor 6y ago

mrtksn 6y ago
Eastern Europe used to be under USSR influence, which made English language education a rarity. Russian and French were much more popular. The public signs often had French as foreign language, not English. Older generations often know some French, Russian,German and even Spanish but rarely know any English. Minorities often speak the language of the country they live in, their mother tongue and 1 or 2 of the language listed above. For younger generation it’s completely different of course, most speak the local language, the mother tongue and English + the language of the country they work if they are working abroad.
- gpvos 6y ago
  In Slovakia, I met a waitress of about 25 years old who only spoke Slovak, Hungarian and a third language that I also didn't speak, maybe it was Russian. In a night train from Poland to Germany, I met someone of about 30 who only spoke Polish and German. So it can still differ a lot per person. (I only speak several western European languages.)
iagovar 6y ago
You can have an entire life in and out of the internet with spanish, without need of English. I'm not saying it's the optimal choice, but only if you get technical you'll miss something. And this is even when localized results separate sites for Spain and Latin america. There's a bit of cross-interaction, but not that much. I guess this is possible with other languages to a varying degree.
- xxpor 6y ago
  I mean it seems totally plausible. Just based on my interactions in Europe (as a dumb non-multilingual English speaker), I'd just have guessed it'd be higher. I've never come across anyone who's had ZERO English skills, while that was somewhat common in Tokyo, for example. Granted, almost all of my time in Europe has been spent in cities so that probably matters a lot.
  - Delk 6y ago
    I'd guess the average English proficiency also varies a lot by the country. I've had lots of elderly relatives who were born before WWII (so in their 80's or 90's) who have or had, to my knowledge, almost absolutely zero English skills. They might have known "yes" or "no", but that's probably it. You wouldn't have been able to ask them a question and get an answer. Most of them aren't alive any more, of course, and I think most of the ones who are slightly younger than that (those born close to WWII to baby boomers) actually do have at least some knowledge of English. Some are probably fairly close to zero, though, and I wouldn't count most of them as knowing English as a second language. Elderly people living in smaller cities or towns or even in the countryside aren't who you'd be likely to meet as a visitor, of course. But as citizens they exist. You'd probably be hard pressed to find a young person who can't manage to speak any English here, though. I guess that might be more likely in a country like Spain where the local language is globally large enough that you can get by in working life without knowing any English.

I'm genuinely shocked only 43% know English as an additional language. I guess it depends on what level of knowledge they're looking for.

by xxpor 6y ago

I'm genuinely shocked only 43% know English as an additional language. I guess it depends on what level of knowledge they're looking for.

mrtksn 6y ago

Eastern Europe used to be under USSR influence, which made English language education a rarity. Russian and French were much more popular. The public signs often had French as foreign language, not English. Older generations often know some French, Russian,German and even Spanish but rarely know any English. Minorities often speak the language of the country they live in, their mother tongue and 1 or 2 of the language listed above. For younger generation it’s completely different of course, most speak the local language, the mother tongue and English + the language of the country they work if they are working abroad.

gpvos 6y ago
In Slovakia, I met a waitress of about 25 years old who only spoke Slovak, Hungarian and a third language that I also didn't speak, maybe it was Russian. In a night train from Poland to Germany, I met someone of about 30 who only spoke Polish and German. So it can still differ a lot per person. (I only speak several western European languages.)

iagovar 6y ago

You can have an entire life in and out of the internet with spanish, without need of English. I'm not saying it's the optimal choice, but only if you get technical you'll miss something. And this is even when localized results separate sites for Spain and Latin america. There's a bit of cross-interaction, but not that much. I guess this is possible with other languages to a varying degree.

xxpor 6y ago
I mean it seems totally plausible. Just based on my interactions in Europe (as a dumb non-multilingual English speaker), I'd just have guessed it'd be higher. I've never come across anyone who's had ZERO English skills, while that was somewhat common in Tokyo, for example. Granted, almost all of my time in Europe has been spent in cities so that probably matters a lot.
- Delk 6y ago
  I'd guess the average English proficiency also varies a lot by the country. I've had lots of elderly relatives who were born before WWII (so in their 80's or 90's) who have or had, to my knowledge, almost absolutely zero English skills. They might have known "yes" or "no", but that's probably it. You wouldn't have been able to ask them a question and get an answer. Most of them aren't alive any more, of course, and I think most of the ones who are slightly younger than that (those born close to WWII to baby boomers) actually do have at least some knowledge of English. Some are probably fairly close to zero, though, and I wouldn't count most of them as knowing English as a second language. Elderly people living in smaller cities or towns or even in the countryside aren't who you'd be likely to meet as a visitor, of course. But as citizens they exist. You'd probably be hard pressed to find a young person who can't manage to speak any English here, though. I guess that might be more likely in a country like Spain where the local language is globally large enough that you can get by in working life without knowing any English.