To make foreign-language proficiency a priority for Catalonia
The goal of the Language Observatory is to provide evidence using indicators, of the disparities between the supply and demand of language skills.
The Initiative for Languages campaign drives proposals geared towards reducing the gap between supply and demand, increasing language proficiency, and boosting the competitive advantage of businesses.
Researching information about indicators and data will provide a snapshot of the population's language level, the demand for language skills and the current supply of languages.
The 2023 Education First Report rates Catalonia’s proficiency in English as ‘medium’ (537 points), on a par with Italy (535), but below the Netherlands (647 points), Austria (616) and Denmark (615), all with a ‘very high’ proficiency.
Partial data point to a slight positive trend in language proficiency among primary and secondary school, despite the slowdown of recent years.
Most Vocational Education and Training courses, which had been largely overlooked until recently, include specific English modules, though there is no data as yet on the success of these measures.
Catalan universities do have a third language programme, but obtaining level B2 proficiency in a foreign language in order to receive a university academic qualification is no longer a requirement.
If the diverse levels of education could better align their efforts, this would help the population to reach the level required in professional settings.
69,3/100
73,9/100
7,1/10
6,96/10
33,9%
| English 68,46% |
| French 15,87% |
| German 7,20% |
| Italian 2,30% |
| Portuguese 1,43% |
| Other 6,14% |
46,5%
of businesses lack bargaining power because they do not have a good mastery of languages
86%
of businesses request languages in their job advertisements, 55,8% ask for English alone, while 27,9% add a second language
81,4%
of businesses believe that having a foreign language is important for management positions; 74,4% for marketing and sales, and 63% for technical roles in industry
| 2018 | 48% | 24% | 15% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 49% | 25% | 20% |
| 2020 | 38% | 21% | 28% |
Of those requiring sixth-form education
36.548
Language learners at the 45 official language schools
67.753
Language learners on training programmes for employed people
61,9%
percentage of students studying first foreign language at reception age
*academic year 2021-22
100%
percentage of students studying first foreign language at primary school
*academic year 2021-22
95%
percentage of students studying first foreign language at Sixth Form
*academic year 2021-22
100%
of intermediate vocational education and training courses have an English module
100%
of medium vocational education and training courses have an English module
30%
of higher vocational education and training courses have an English module
FemCAT's Language Observatory study, “What works” points to a lack of convincing evidence about which language practices contribute to the internationalisation of businesses, although it does find evidence of teaching methods that could enhance language proficiency.
Scheduled teaching, which includes guided practice, exaggerated vocalisation and task-based learning.
Effect: average, learning improvements particularly in grammar and the natural identification of words.
Virtual reality, augmented reality, digital narration and other technology tools.
Effect: average, positive in terms of writing quality and improved vocabulary.
Apps, SMS and others.
Effect: low, although it does eliminate physical barriers and improves oral comprehension.
Allowing the learner to take on responsibility for their own learning.
Effect: average, with the most notable improvements in oral expression.
Efforts to improve language proficiency must be made at all levels: formal education, vocational education and training, and by the general public.
Low language proficiency means that generalised foreign-language teaching is left to vocational education and training; a more effective approach would be for the professional system to focus on the specific content of the vacancy to be filled.
Proficiency is important not only in English: French and German are also critical assets.
Boosting foreign languages does not mean that we should overlook Catalan; in fact, when businesses have an international outlook, they find it easier to maintain their Catalan.
The demand for language proficiency permeates all jobs. The type of skill required (understanding, oral, written, reading) varies according to the role and profession, and demand increases with the responsibility of the position.
The demand for languages in business is dynamic and self-regulated. To increase competitiveness through international projection, efforts need to be made from within and outside businesses.
WHAT IT IS
A consistent indicator model that monitors and orients trends in the supply and demand of foreign language proficiency in Catalonia.
WHY HAS FEMCAT LAUNCHED IT?
Because there is a consensus that foreign-language learning is one of the keys to business competitiveness and yet there are no tools to measure its trends, making it impossible to gauge the impact of measures on Catalonia.
HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE LANGUAGES INITIATIVE?
The Languages Initiative came about as part of the commitment of leading business organisations to improving foreign-language proficiency as a tool to support business competitiveness and the career progression of individuals.