Morocco is once again in the category of countries “ weak » in proficiency in the English language, according to the 2024 ranking of the English proficiency index recently published by the Swiss foundation Education First. Although the kingdom maintains its 76th world rank, its score has increased slightly, from 478 to 479 points, a sign of moderate progress but insufficient to exit this category.
On the national level, the Casablanca-Settat region dethrones Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and stands at the top of regional performances. Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, first in 2023, slips to second place, followed by Marrakech-Safi, Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma, Fès-Meknès, and Souss-Massa. At the other end of the ranking, the Guelmim-Oued Noun and Drâa-Tafilalet regions are struggling to improve their English proficiency rate, recording some of the lowest results.
At the city level, Rabat maintains its dominant position, followed by El Jadida, which remains stable in second place. Casablanca made notable progress by seizing third position, relegating Oujda to 7th place. On the other hand, the towns of Béni Mellal and Khouribga bring up the rear with the lowest scores.
In the African context, South Africa, heir to an English-speaking tradition as a former British colony, largely dominates and rises to 11th position in the world. It is followed by countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda. Morocco, with its 9th continental place, is behind Tunisia but ahead of Algeria and Mozambique. Côte d’Ivoire, Somalia, and Libya appear at the bottom of the African ranking, in the category of countries ” very weak ».
In the Middle East region, Israel leads the ranking, followed by Iran, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen record among the weakest performances.
The Education First report highlights a global trend: “ The number of people in the world who understand some English is higher today than 30 years ago “. However, he qualifies this observation by specifying that “ most of them do not speak English well enough to work or study as effectively as they do in their native language ».
A notable aspect of this edition is the notable improvement in English proficiency among women, particularly in Africa, where they consistently outperform men in this skill. On the other hand, the gap persists between the public and private sectors, the latter being advantaged by more demanding recruitment criteria, particularly in terms of mastery of English.
To address these gaps, the report recommends that governments and educational institutions integrate English into teacher training, ensuring that it is taught only by competent trainers, subject to testing and training. regular.
Also, he recommends adopting teaching methods based on communication, encouraging positive interaction instead of focusing on mistakes and imposing mastery of English as a condition for obtaining university degrees.
