双语新闻：年轻人英语语言能力下降

A recent index that measures English language ability around the world finds that young people's English language proficiency is decreasing.

最近一项衡量全球英语语言能力的指数发现，年轻人的英语熟练程度正在下降。

The 2023 EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) ranks countries and areas by English proficiency. The index is based on test results from 2.2 million people in 113 countries. The test is published by EF Education First, a private company based in Switzerland. VOA Learning English has a partnership with EF Education First to provide the online test to English learners.

2023年英孚英语水平指数(EPI)根据英语水平对国家和地区进行排名。该指数基于113个国家220万人的测试结果。该测试由总部位于瑞士的私营公司英孚教育(EF Education First)发布。美国之音慢速英语与英孚教育合作，为英语学习者提供在线测试。

The EPI found that while young people's English skills are decreasing, working adults continue to increase their proficiency in English. There are different opinions about why the difference exists. Some people blame the COVID-19 pandemic, but others say artificial intelligence (or AI) tools could also be a reason.

EPI发现，虽然年轻人的英语技能在下降，但在职成年人的英语熟练程度在不断提高。关于这种差异存在的原因有不同的看法。一些人将其归咎于新冠疫情，但也有人认为人工智能(或AI)工具也可能是一个原因。

EF Education First released the 2023 index last November. EF EPI author Kate Bell warned that the 2023 index gives a false sense of global stability, meaning English speakers' proficiency stays about the same. But the truth is that gains in some countries are being offset by losses in others, Bell said in an EF Education First press release.

去年11月，英孚教育发布了2023年指数。英孚英语指数的作者凯特·贝尔警告说，2023年的指数给人一种全球稳定的错觉，意味着说英语的人的熟练程度保持不变。但事实是，一些国家的收益正在被其他国家的损失所抵消，贝尔在英孚教育第一的新闻发布会上说。

Results by age group

按年龄组别划分的结果

Results were reported by age group for the first time in 2015. Since that time, the English proficiency of young people has decreased by 89 points. The EPI defines young people as being 18 to 20 years of age.

2015年首次按年龄组报告了结果。从那时起，年轻人的英语水平下降了89分。EPI将年轻人定义为18至20岁。

However, the EPI notes that the 18 to 20 group was mostly stable with big decreases in a few large countries. India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Japan showed the largest proficiency decreases among youth.

然而，EPI指出，18岁至20岁的人群基本保持稳定，少数大国出现了大幅下降。印度、印度尼西亚、墨西哥和日本的年轻人的熟练程度下降幅度最大。

Kansuke Ikebe is a 21-year-old student from Shiga, Japan. He told VOA Learning English that the results are "really surprising. In my opinion, I've never felt it is decreasing. It is maybe because there are many youth who can speak English in my university."

池边健介是一名来自日本滋贺的21岁学生。他对美国之音慢速英语表示，调查结果“真的令人惊讶”。在我看来，我从来没有感觉到它在减少。这可能是因为我的大学里有很多会说英语的年轻人。”

The EPI report noted that the decrease appears to have taken place when the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with normal education. The report said, "It is not yet clear if learning loss due to Covid will self-correct over time," but increased scores are expected in the future.

EPI的报告指出，这种下降似乎是在COVID-19大流行干扰正常教育时发生的。报告称，“目前还不清楚新冠肺炎导致的学习损失是否会随着时间的推移而自我纠正”，但预计未来分数会有所提高。

The EPI said the problem is more difficult in countries where proficiency has been decreasing over time and "where education systems are teaching English less well than before."

EPI表示，在英语熟练程度随着时间的推移而下降的国家，以及“教育系统教英语不如以前好”的国家，这个问题更加困难。

There has been a decrease in proficiency in Japan for nearly 10 years. Ikebe said he could believe the EPI results because of the way English is taught in Japan. "It makes nobody want to learn English more. It is not practical at all and really boring."

近10年来，日本的英语熟练程度一直在下降。池边说，由于日本的英语教学方式，他可以相信EPI的结果。“这让没有人更想学英语。这一点都不实用，而且真的很无聊。”

However, working adults, people 26 years old and older, have been improving their English since 2015. The EPI said this might be because the value of a shared language is most recognized in the workplace. English creates possibilities for individuals and productivity for organizations.

然而，自2015年以来，26岁及以上的成年劳动者一直在提高英语水平。EPI表示，这可能是因为共享语言的价值在工作场所得到了最广泛的认可。英语为个人创造了可能性，为组织创造了生产力。

Results by gender

按性别划分的结果

Results from the index also show a difference between men and women, what it calls a gender gap. The gender gap among those aged 18 to 25 is three times bigger than it is among working adults. Men's proficiency has improved by 14 points since 2015, while women's has decreased by 19 points.

该指数的结果还显示了男性和女性之间的差异，即所谓的性别差距。年龄在18岁到25岁之间的性别差距是在职成年人的三倍。自2015年以来，男性的熟练程度提高了14个百分点，而女性则下降了19个百分点。

The lack of women in international jobs could be one reason for the gender gap the EPI said. But the gender gap among those aged 18 to 25 might demonstrate "a problem engendered by educational systems themselves or a societal problem schools are failing to address," the report said.

EPI说，国际工作中缺少女性可能是造成性别差距的原因之一。但报告称，18岁至25岁之间的性别差距可能表明“这是教育系统本身造成的问题，或者是学校未能解决的社会问题”。

An exception was the Middle East. The average score for women in that area has increased by 44 points, placing them ahead of men there.

中东是个例外。女性在这一领域的平均得分提高了44分，领先于男性。

Lower average scores

较低的平均分

One notable trend in the 2023 EF EPI is that all the very high proficiency countries and many of the high proficiency countries had lower average scores than in 2022. This could be a possible effect of the pandemic on learning, travel and in-person communication.

2023年EF EPI的一个值得注意的趋势是，所有英语水平非常高的国家和许多英语水平很高的国家的平均分数都低于2022年。这可能是大流行对学习、旅行和面对面交流的可能影响。

The Czech Republic is one country whose score dropped in 2023.

捷克共和国是2023年得分下降的国家之一。

Sabina Wyrob is with the Czech office of EF Education First. She told the Czech News Agency online teaching during the pandemic affected children's English skills. Schools and students are trying to catch up on what was missed, she told the news organization, but they are still not moving forward.

Sabina Wyrob就职于英孚教育捷克办事处。她告诉捷克通讯社，疫情期间的在线教学影响了儿童的英语技能。她告诉新闻机构，学校和学生正在努力弥补遗漏的东西，但他们仍然没有向前迈进。

The reach of AI

人工智能的影响力

The EPI report says that learning a language provides understanding of new ideas as well as better understanding of people. These skills, the report said, remain beyond the reach of AI, or artificial intelligence.

EPI的报告称，学习一门语言有助于理解新思想，也能更好地了解人。报告称，这些技能仍然超出了人工智能的能力范围。

But Ikebe said in Japan: "now AI and translation are being developed well. So, they don't need to learn English if they just do their homework. I think they don't use it as a tool to communicate, just a subject to pass the entrance exam."

但池边在日本表示:“现在人工智能和翻译都发展得很好。所以，如果他们只是做作业，他们不需要学习英语。我认为他们并没有把它作为一种交流的工具，而是把它作为通过入学考试的一门学科。”

Jeannie Tse is a country manager at EF Hong Kong and Macau. She spoke to The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong.

Jeannie Tse是英孚香港及澳门地区经理。她接受了香港《标准报》的采访。

Tse said that while AI has changed the way young people work and learn, the importance of schools, teachers, and face-to-face instruction remains. "I do not believe that AI can completely replace language learning," Tse said, "but educators can harness AI to enhance language learning methods."

谢霆锋表示，虽然人工智能改变了年轻人的工作和学习方式，但学校、教师和面对面教学的重要性仍然存在。“我不相信人工智能可以完全取代语言学习，”谢说，“但教育工作者可以利用人工智能来增强语言学习方法。”