People in Shanghai have become more proficient in English than those in the rival financial centre of Hong Kong for the first time, according to a study ranking fluency in the language in 63 countries worldwide.
Until recently Hong Kong had the edge when it came to speaking English, the language of global business and still one of the territory’s two official languages. But since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, Hong Kong schools no longer teach mainly in English and proficiency has slipped.
“The growing middle class in China recognises the . . . importance of English as China’s economy internationalises,” according to a study published on Wednesday by English First, a subsidiary of the global group Education First. “Therefore it has invested heavily in private English training. Also, China sends more students abroad” – and most of them go to English-speaking countries.