France’s English proficiency skills are the weakest in Europe

[foxy]

France has the weakest English skills in Europe :13:
Even the Russians or the Chinese can speak better English than the French.
How is this possible, the distance between France and England is only 21 miles...


http://www.ef.de/epi/

[lapinschous]

I've heard the opposite... :13::confused:

From the point of view of english speakers living in france: http://plus.lefigaro.fr/note/la-france-et-sa-bonne-maitrise-de-la-langue-anglaise-20100227-146925

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/societe/201111/18/01-4469578-anglicisation-de-la-france-un-pays-qui-a-mal-a-sa-langue.php

[foxy]

imo the EPI report seems more reliable.

A friend of mine was in Paris last summer, he told me that most of the French people don't like to speak english.
I read that usage of foreign languages in the media is restricted by law in France.

Scruffy travelled to France on several occasions, maybe he can tell us about his experiences in France.

[Lili4ever]

French are just butthurt, that english is Lingua franca

[Ray4AJ]

During my brief visit to Paris I only used three French words... Bonjour, au revoir, and merci. Everyone I needed to deal with understood and spoke English well enough for me to converse with. Which was good because that was all the French I could use. But this was Paris and I was in places where foreign visitors would be expected. A few people in the streets would pretend they didn't understand English, and maybe some really didn't. Perhaps other places would have fewer people comfortable enough with English to use it. But one the other had, why should they have to use English?

Recently while listening to French radio stations via the internet while waiting for Alizée interviews to come on, I discovered that half of the songs played on the radio were songs from English-speaking countries performed by the original artists in English. Someone must want to hear them.

The world is always changing for better or for worse.

[Finnishguy]

I think most of French people doesn't know English. Well ofc people who works with/for tourists knows it but generally.. When I was in Paris I had really problems to understand people (I don't like tourist areas soo..).

Well, I found there one Finnish speaker guy in bar, that was pretty cool after hard French speaking :D