What regions of Kazakhstan lead in EF English Proficiency Index

The Education First international educational center has compiled a rating of countries by their English language proficiency, Kazinform News Agency cites Jibek Joly TV channel.

According to Education First, Kazakhstan is currently ranked 103rd in the list of countries with the highest level of English proficiency. The Netherlands has been the absolute leader for several years, with a score of 636 out of 700.

The data indicates that the most proficient English is spoken by residents of Almaty and the Almaty region, followed by Astana, Akmola and Kostanay regions.

One of the primary challenges identified by English teachers is the lack of discipline among people, particularly in the context of free learning resources, such as speaking clubs. However, this is not the sole factor contributing to the issue.

“In our schools, teachers are not asked as much as they should be. And those who want to do professional development, take additional tests and develop themselves are often financially constrained. Schools, normally, are not able to allocate funds for this either. As a result, this affects our children's education,” Aizhan Akatayeva, an English teacher, said.

The Netherlands continues to lead the rating with 636 points, followed by Norway with 610 points and Singapore with 609 points. In the CIS countries, Belarus occupies 35th place (539 points), Russia 44th (532 points), Kyrgyzstan 87th (457 points), Uzbekistan 98th (439 points) and Kazakhstan 103rd (427 points).