Foreign Language and Education in Europe

Steven E RichardsonGPY 356 – 01 (Winter 2014)

“United in Diversity”

Research Questions

What is the status of the English language throughout the European continent?

Does the quality of education have an impact on learning English as a foreign language and its presence as a working language?

Hypothesis

Higher expenditures on education will create a stronger system that allows for advanced English language learning, ultimately creating a common working language amongst Europeans.

Research FindingsPercent of pupils learning a foreign language in primary school

Variable 1

Research Findings

Variable 1

Research Findings

Variable 1

Variable 1

Variable 1

Norway – lowest score

DK & GMY – below avg.

SWE, FIN, FR, NED – higher than avg.

Croatia – higher than avg.

Conclusions

Research FindingsPublic expenditure on education (% of GDP)

Variable 2

Research Findings

Variable 2

Research Findings

Variable 2

Variable 2

Variable 2

NW, SWE, DK, FIN – spend above avg.

Cyprus spends above avg.

GMY spends below avg., as well as ITA & SPA

Conclusions

Comparison

Conclusions

Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, and Sweden correlate.

7 out of 26 countries correlate

Croatia & Czech Republic – above average English learning and below average money expenditures.

Final Statements This data proves that strictly viewing these

numbers without having further knowledge and understanding can lead to improper assumptions of the situation in the respective countries.

These are just arbitrary numbers that provide us with a glimpse into a country.

There is not necessarily a correlation between the amount of money a country invests in its education system and the amount of people who can speak English.

Further research and case studies will perhaps give us a deeper meaning behind the data and maps.

Work Cited Eurostat (powered by the European

Commission) http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/

page/portal/statistics/themes