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Who's number 1? Really? What country's non-native English-speakers speak the best business English?
The Economist ^
| 08/13/2014
Posted on 08/13/2014 4:20:47 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
WHAT country's non-native English-speakers speak the best business English in the world? Try to think of five countries before reading on.
Done? The answer, according to GlobalEnglish, is probably not what you think. (GlobalEnglish is owned by Pearson, which part-owns The Economist).
Remember that the survey tested non-native speakers, so don't be too distracted by the placement of the Anglophone countries. Still, Global English's results are very strange. If you thought that the Philippines has the best business English in the world, and that Germany would miss the top 25, you haven't had the same work and travel experiences I have.
Global English says this about its Business English Index:
The GOE [Globalisation of English] and BEI [Business English Index] together give us a complete picture of the trends, achievements and challenges in business communication and the importance of Business English in the workplace.
If this is a complete picture, we have a genuine stop-the-presses moment here: Madagascar, Bulgaria and Romania well ahead of Denmark, Switzerland and Germany? Spain just behind Angola? If this doesn't violate your common sense about the relative quality of English around the world, look at a few neighboring and demographically similar countries. Slovenia miles ahead of Slovakia and the Czech Republic? Argentina and Uruguay leagues ahead of Chile?
In mild amazement, I wrote to Global English's press-relations person, asking how the study had been compiled. His reply:
The Business English Index is based on the placement test that GlobalEnglish subscribers take within GlobalEnglish Edge, an on-demand Business English development solution, to assess the Business English proficiency level of each respondent.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: business; english
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To: SeekAndFind
The UK is 4th place?
lolz
21
posted on
08/13/2014 4:53:22 PM PDT
by
GeronL
(Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
To: manc
RE: The Boar if I am not mistaken right?
BOERS. The Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century. Needless to say, they speak excellent English.
22
posted on
08/13/2014 4:56:32 PM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
To: SeekAndFind
Sorry I misspelled it LOL.
It came out as big pigs, EEK.
Back in the day those guys were great fighters too against the Zulu.
Speaking of which have you ever seen a movie called Zulu where just over a hundred Brits fought off over 4,000 Zulus?
Great old movie
23
posted on
08/13/2014 4:58:19 PM PDT
by
manc
(Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
To: SeekAndFind
"Hey! Wassammatta wit da Noo Yawk accent, huh? It's not good enough for ya?"
24
posted on
08/13/2014 4:58:35 PM PDT
by
COBOL2Java
(I'm a Christian, pro-life, pro-gun, Reaganite. The GOP hates me. Why should I vote for them?)
To: GeronL
RE: The UK is 4th place?
lolz
______________________
The question is: What is “business English” and how does it differ from “English”?
Let’s define our terms first.
25
posted on
08/13/2014 5:01:09 PM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
To: manc
Most of Northern Europe I have been too and it seems their kids can speak English fluently when they are 7 years old.Yes, when I was in Europe, I thought the Danes and Norwegians were very good. The Swedes, Finns, Dutch and Swiss were good too. Don't forget Iceland. I spoke to a Dane once, and he told me that Denmark only has 5 million people, and outside of Denmark, no one speaks their language, so they learn English.
26
posted on
08/13/2014 5:31:10 PM PDT
by
Mark17
(Obama & Nero? Both Emperors. The difference is Nero played a fiddle, while Obama plays a "flute")
To: SeekAndFind
I guessed the Netherlands, and they were in the top 3, so I wasn’t far off. Dutch and Flemish are very similar to English, and all of the Dutch people I’ve dealt with have a very good grasp of our language.
To: Mark17
“Yes, when I was in Europe, I thought the Danes and Norwegians were very good.”
________________________________________________
Central Europe also has a good number of English speakers.
While living in Slovakia, I worked as a private tutor of English conversation. It was not classroom work. My 90 min sessions consisted of conversing with one to six people.
It was good fun AND money, about $12 per hour.
28
posted on
08/13/2014 6:18:12 PM PDT
by
AlexW
To: SeekAndFind
29
posted on
08/13/2014 6:27:06 PM PDT
by
DFG
("Dumb, Dependent, and Democrat is no way to go through life" - Louie Gohmert (R-TX))
To: AlexW
While living in Slovakia, I worked as a private tutor of English conversation. It was not classroom work. It was good fun Yep. I do it all the time, just by being around, and it is fun.
30
posted on
08/13/2014 6:47:02 PM PDT
by
Mark17
(Obama & Nero? Both Emperors. The difference is Nero played a fiddle, while Obama plays a "flute")
To: SeekAndFind
A Filipino friend told me this.
What do you call two Filipino pilots?
A pair of “plyers”.
31
posted on
08/13/2014 7:30:58 PM PDT
by
peteyd
(A dog may bite you in the ass,but it will never stab you in the back.)
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