This report explores the learning process of 15-year-olds in Finland, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, and Portugal. English is now the preferred language for communication in diverse online and offline communities. However, little is known about how students learn English inside and outside school and the resources available to help them. The report includes interviews with 15-year-olds, English-language teachers, and school principals, as well as background research. It also explores how digital technologies can support learners in developing foreign language proficiency. The findings support the forthcoming PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment, which will generate comparable data on students’ English proficiency in different countries and related factors.
This report explores the learning process of 15-year-olds in Finland, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, and Portugal. English is now the preferred language for communication in diverse online and offline communities, but little is known about how students learn English inside and outside school. The report includes interviews with 15-year-olds, English-language teachers, school principals, and background research. It also explores how digital technologies can support learners in developing foreign language proficiency.
The findings support the forthcoming PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment, which will generate comparable data on students’ proficiency in English in different countries and the factors related to it. English is the most sought-after foreign language globally, entering the lives of many young people from an early age through school, television, computers, and mobile phones. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment will include an optional Foreign Language Assessment in 2025, and case studies have been conducted in five countries to support the analysis.
Learning English is not limited to the classroom. Not all kids gain equally from this, even though it is widely thought to support language competence.
- 15-year-olds in participating countries are regularly exposed to English outside of school. These interactions are certainly increased by digital technology, but even among persons who speak the same language as them, many students utilize English offline.
- Both students and teachers believe that increased exposure to English will improve language skills directly and indirectly. It is thought to boost motivation, improve understanding, and increase vocabulary. Teachers caution that some students may overestimate their English language skills and underestimate their study needs as a result.
- Outside of school, students’ use of English varies. Differences in geography, culture, and socioeconomic status influence the kind and frequency of these interactions.
Teachers and students hold similar views of the challenges of learning English, despite disparate approaches to structuring the language’s education.
- Varying countries have varying starting ages, levels of intensity, and desired proficiency levels, which affect how governments and educational institutions organize English language instruction. Additionally, there are variations in the degree of independence and curriculum freedom afforded to educators and educational institutions.
- Speaking and writing are considered the most challenging productive abilities to teach and learn in each of the case study countries. The time needed to practice and evaluate them, difficulties with confidence, vocabulary, and pronunciation, as well as fewer opportunities to utilize them outside of the classroom, are some of the causes of this.
- Students, English language instructors, and school administrators worldwide desire more genuine opportunities for young people to speak English. Despite their high resource requirements, several institutions make a commitment to provide foreign exchanges, frequently with assistance from regional or national programs. Some people also use digital tools to encourage communication; more extensive studies show how technology may help with interactive, group language learning.
The wide variety in English language proficiency among 15-year-olds is viewed by educators worldwide as a major concern.
- In order to meet the requirements of various English language learners, especially those who do poorly, schools and teachers usually employ a variety of tactics. They do concur, though, that more could be done to help them and to provide high-achieving pupils with more challenging opportunities.
- According to more extensive studies, artificial intelligence (AI) may help teachers better meet the unique demands of language learners. Although it wasn’t common, there was growing interest in utilizing AI to enhance teaching and learning in a few of the case study institutions.
- Reducing class size or classifying students according to language proficiency are solutions that many English teachers find useful. Some studies, however, emphasize that in order for this to be beneficial, it needs to be combined with instructional strategies that capitalize on these organizational changes. The case studies show that differentiation can be facilitated by more pedagogical freedom.
The case studies highlight some national differences in English instruction and acquisition.
- Through stakeholder surveys, national assessments of students’ language ability, and other commissioned studies examining teaching methods and attitudes, Finland has established a solid national understanding of English language teaching and learning.
- In addition to acquiring English throughout their academic careers, many Greek students begin studying it at an early age in private, non-formal education. One major factor contributing to this is language certification, which is regarded as essential for life after school.
- Bilingual (Dutch-English) programs in the Netherlands assist pupils in becoming more proficient. A national organization that promotes internationalization in education provides support to the schools that provide these programs.
- Through extracurricular activities, local field trips and visits, and, where feasible, foreign exchanges, Portuguese schools seem to actively seek out opportunities for students to practice their English outside of the classroom.
