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Speaking English in Morocco is still not mainstream, according to the recent report issued by Education First, an international education company specialized in language training, education travel, academic degree programs and cultural exchange. Ranked 67th out of 88 countries by the English Proficiency Index (EPI), the kingdom is part of the Very Low category.
Based on data gathered by the eighth edition of EPI, Morocco scored 48.10 points. Compared to last year, the Kingdom was positioned 60th among only 80 countries.
According to EPI’s ranking, the Kingdom is situated behind Peru (59th), Colombia (60th) and Iran and ahead of Tunisia (68th), Honduras and Salvador (70th).
In Africa, Morocco is ranked 6th, behind South Africa, ranked first in the continent, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia and Egypt. In North Africa, the Kingdom is positioned second ahead of Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. The four neighboring countries, however, belong to the same category namely, the «very low proficiency» one.
English in Morocco
«English is a relative newcomer» to Morocco and countries in North Africa, wrote the authors of the report which, however, indicated that the language’s value is increasing «particularly for its neutrality and business potential».
«Different countries in Africa face different obstacles to developing English proficiency. Some, like Tunisia and Morocco, have labor markets with an oversized public sector and high levels of youth unemployment— conditions that offer few incentives for learning and often push the most ambitious students overseas», wrote the same report.
The same report indicates that the simple tasks for Moroccan students are limited to the following : Introduce oneself simply, understand simple signs and give basic directions to a foreigner visitor.
For gender gap, it appears that women are more into English than men in Morocco. In their score, men had 47. 26 points as opposed to women who obtained 49.08 points. Regionally, women scored more than men in Africa with 55.20 points.
Globally, the ranking was topped by the Sweden first, the Netherlands 2nd, Singapore 3rd, Norway 4th and Denmark 5th. Libya 88th, Iraq 87th and Uzbakistan 86th are in the bottom of the list. For the record, the EF English Proficiency Index ranks the average level of English language skills in different countries based on an EF test available on the internet.
