Benjamin Thomas Kohler - Lun, 24/02/2025 - 09:43
Girl studying english.
Serie: 'Bites of wisdom' (XIII)
Some people prefer the humanities to science. They prefer reading and writing to math. They excel at learning languages because they are either 'better' at it, because they put more effort into it, or perhaps a bit of both. They are the people who seem to communicate freely and easily in a foreign language, while others who are not so lucky are stuck in a cloud of doubt and embarrassment.
There are a lot of people of the first type here in Spain when it comes to proficiency in English, though there are likely more of the second type. Spain's population ranks as moderately proficient in English skills, or 'mid-tier', ahead of many countries in Asia, Africa and South America, though behind most other countries in Europe. While it's fair to view these statistics with a grain of salt (international cities like Madrid and Barcelona have higher English levels compared to the rest of the country), the reality seems to be that there are specific challenges to learning English for people from Spain.
Why is English So Hard for Spaniards?
First of all, I've personally found that the classic Spanish vergüenza related to speaking English often stems from interference from the native Spanish accent. Spanish speakers know they have a pronounced accent, and they're not wrong. Spanish has only five vowel sounds (not counting its diphthongs), while English has twelve. (Mis)pronunciation of these additional vowel sounds is one major reason Spaniards have such marked accents. Spain's entry to this page on 'Non-native pronunciations of English' is longer than those of just about any other language, which tells us that there is a lot to say about how Spaniards (mis)pronounce the language. Thus, even though both English and Spanish come from the same continent, this ought to tell us something of the challenge people have when transferring Spanish pronunciation to English.
As if that weren't enough, English spelling doesn't do language learners any favors either! English is, of course, infamous for the seemingly incompatible association between its pronunciation and spelling. This is due to many reasons, as you can read about in the introduction to this entry on English orthography, but what matters is that these spelling conventions and rules are here to stay even though they don't match the pronunciation. Comparatively, Spanish is an orthographically shallow language (which is actually a great thing!) because there is a direct correspondence between pronunciation and spelling. Unfortunately when Spanish speakers/readers try to follow expected patterns in English, they struggle.
So, how do native English speakers learn to spell? I'll just say (surprise, surprise) that this is a common struggle for native English speakers as well! My own children, though native speakers of English since birth, unsurprisingly misspell words because they (logically) try to use their knowledge of pronunciation to help them. Wrong! It's English! You have to learn to spell separately from how you learn to speak! That's why we have spelling bees (formal spelling competitions) in our language: because it's hard for us too!
Lisa Simpson participating in a spelling competition .
How do native speakers of English end up learning to read and write then? The most common strategies probably involve using 'phonics', which is basically decoding the mysteries of the sound/letter mismatch, 'sight words', which is essentially memorizing high frequency words, and any combination or synthesis of those two. The consequence of English being an orthographically 'deep' language seems to be that it takes native English speakers longer and more effort to read in their language than it does native Spanish speakers in theirs.
At this point we must ask, what does this mean for you if your first language is Spanish and you are trying to learn English primarily by reading first? Trouble. Native speakers of English (like native speakers of any language) all learn to speak before they learn to spell. You, as an adult, may be learning to spell and read before you learn to speak, and, because of the aforementioned mismatch, you may be struggling with both.
This, unfortunately, is difficult to fix or change. Adults are said to learn a second language faster than children because they can more easily assimilate rules and structure for grammar and vocabulary, but children are said to have the overall advantage because they tend to learn languages in a more natural or innate way: listening and speaking. The famous theory for second language acquisition which states that someone can only learn a language like or as a 'native' is called the Critical Period Hypothesis, and it states, unspecifically, that this critical age period is likely between the years of 2 and 13 (typically before puberty). Needless to say, achieving a 'native-like' proficiency of any foreign or second language after that point is said to be much more difficult, if not impossible.
How English Fits into Spain's Linguistic Landscape
Speaking of English as a foreign or second language, which do you think is more common for native Spaniards: to learn English as a foreign language or as a second language? Of course there is a difference, and of course the answer for most Spaniards is that it is their 'foreign' language (even if it is technically the 'second' or even 'third' language they speak). English as a Second Language (or ESL) refers to English being used as a secondary language regularly within the society or culture. That is simply not the case for most young Spaniards, who only speak English at school or in academies; nor is it the case for many working adults, who may use English to some extent at work, but for the majority of daily interactions in Spain it is a Spanish-language dominated country.
And I don't know about you, but I don't think that this will change any time soon. Spain has a significant linguistic connection to 20 other Spanish-speaking countries around the world, meaning that the influence of popular and historical culture in the Spanish language is here to stay. I don't see how English could compete with it in Spain (let alone overtake it) even if it does continue to grow in Europe, though it is interesting to see how this may explain why a country like Spain, with a dominant world language, lags behind in English proficiency compared to smaller European nations that don't have a dominant world language, like nextdoor neighbor Portugal, Croacia, or Greece. Clearly people in those countries are more likely to engage with English because their native languages are less globalized, influential or seen and heard in movies, music or other media and content. Pessimistic views on English language proficiency in Spain abound, as these and many other online articles can attest to (Why Spaniards Aren't Learning English Fast Rest Europe / We Can't Speak English in Spain and It's Embarrassing).
Given these challenges, it's no surprise that English proficiency in Spain remains a complex and often frustrating issue. But beyond statistics and rankings, what does this struggle reveal about language learning itself? Is it simply a matter of effort, or are there deeper cultural and structural factors at play? In Part 2, we'll look at how English is taught, the role of native and non-native teachers, and whether Spain's approach to bilingual education is moving in the right direction—or if it's time for a new perspective altogether.
Bibliography
Education First. (n.d.). EF English proficiency index. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Pérez, A. (2018, August 6). We can't speak English in Spain and it's embarrassing. Micropreneur Life.
VOA News. (2019, July 14). Why Spaniards aren't learning English fast like the rest of Europe. Voice of America.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Critical period hypothesis. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). English orthography. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Non-native pronunciations of English. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Phonics. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Sight word. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Spelling bee. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
Editor: Universidad Isabel I
ISSN 3020-321X
Burgos, España
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