1) Knowledge of Foreign Languages in the Czech Republic Presentation of the results of a sociological survey Prepared by STEM for CzechInvest, Prague, 30 June 2014 

2) Survey Specification This presentation details the results of a representative survey carried out by means of face-to-face interviews in three waves during the period from 20 May to 11 June 2014. A total of 2,641 respondents aged 18-59 years participated in the survey. The survey was conducted by experienced interviewers from STEM throughout the Czech Republic. Quota sampling method with criteria of sex, age, education, size of locality and region was used. Source: STEM, 2014 

3) Knowledge of foreign languages Question version no. 1 Basic information on knowledge of foreign languages among the population in the 18-59 age group was measured by means of TWO questions. First the respondents had to state the number of foreign languages in which they are able to read and understand a simple text. This question gave the respondents space to name languages that came to mind as well as for self-evaluation of their knowledge. The results show that one-fifth of the population is not able to speak any foreign language. More than one-third speak one foreign language. Almost one-third speak two foreign languages. Knowledge of three or more languages was reported by 12%. Source: STEM, 2014 

4) Spontaneous response: 78% speak at least one foreign language “How many foreign languages do you know to such an extent that you are able to read and understand a simple text in such language(s)?” Three languages 10% Two languages 30% Four or more 2% None 22% One language 36% Source: STEM, 2014 

5) Knowledge of foreign languages Question version No. 2 In the second version of the question, respondents had to think over their knowledge of foreign languages again, this time not counting the Slovak language. This version showed an increase of the proportion of people who do not know any foreign languages (28%). More than two-fifths then stated that they speak one foreign language. Two languages were named by one-fourth of the population. Only six percent named three or more languages. Bearing in mind the main goal of the survey, we will base our analysis on this second version of the question (i.e. excluding knowledge of Slovak the language). Source: STEM, 2014 

6) Not counting Slovak, 72% of respondents are able to speak at least one foreign language. “How many foreign languages, not including Slovak, do you know to such an extent that you are able to read and understand a simple text in such language(s)?” Three languages 5% Four or more 1% None 28% Two languages 24% One language 42% Source: STEM, 2014 

7) People who know one foreign language mainly speak English. Languages spoken people who know only one foreign language (Slovak excluded) Russian 24% Other languages 3% English 48% German 25% Source: STEM, 2014 

8) The most frequent combination is English-German. Combinations of languages among people who report knowledge of two foreign languages (Slovak excluded) English-French 5% German-Russian 17% Other combinations 11% English-Russian 20% English-German 47% Source: STEM, 2014 

9) Relatively good knowledge among residents of Prague and the Olomouc region. “How many foreign languages, not including Slovak, do you know to such an extent that you are able to read and understand a simple text such language(s)?” By region 100 7 5 20 75 5 5 5 6 24 21 20 29 32 40 43 50 39 11 5 19 5 7 26 11 22 28 49 37 6 28 22 44 45 4 20 16 6 43 41 36 41 40 42 44 25 32 % 0 17 None 26 34 One language 36 34 28 Two languages 26 27 33 30 Three or more Source: STEM, 2014 19 28 31 

10) Ninety-three percent of managers report knowledge of at least one foreign language. “How many foreign languages, not including Slovak, do you know to such an extent that you are able to read and understand a simple text such language(s)?” By occupation 100 10 5 23 4 2 9 19 26 75 39 40 32 48 50 58 25 38 40 50 29 % 7 10 11 Managers Professionals White-collars 0 None One language Two languages Operators Three or more Source: STEM, 2014 Blue-collars 

11) Battery of fourteen European languages The survey investigated knowledge of foreign languages using various means. Besides the above-mentioned options and the levels of language examinations to follow later, the survey asked a battery of 14 questions mapping the knowledge of selected European languages. The respondents had to choose one value from the range “ fluent – active – passive – not at all”. There was also an option to state knowledge of another language not in the list. The Slovak language was included in this battery. Source: STEM, 2014 

12) Extent of knowledge of the most common foreign languages “To what extent do you speak the following foreign languages?” 0% 10% Slovak 30% 15 English 5 2 Fluent 50% 60% 70% 49 23 57 26 61 Passive 90% 24 18 Active 80% 34 23 15 11 40% 27 11 German Russian 20% Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 100% 

13) Extent of knowledge of less common foreign languages (in %) “To what extent do you speak the following foreign languages?” Polish French 1 Spanish 1 Italian 1 Dutch 3 1 1 1 14 3 3 2 Fluent Active Passive Source: STEM, 2014 

14) Other foreign languages Fewer than 1% of respondents had knowledge of the following languages: - Dutch (0.6%) - Portuguese (0.4%) - Danish (0.2%) - Swedish (0.2%) - Norwegian (0.2%) - Finnish (0.3%) - Among “other languages” we found: Romani Latin - Hungarian Japanese Arabic Croatian Greek Source: STEM, 2014 

15) Extent of knowledge by level of educational attainment “To what extent do you speak the following foreign languages?” Russian German English 100 100 100 15 39 75 66 35 16 75 52 65 70 72 71 45 75 58 77 21 50 39 25 50 50 29 27 25 11 29 15 18 9 % 0 4 % 2 11 27 25 21 26 16 30 19 25 25 0 11 2 8 1 5 % 0 Fluent Active Passive 18 20 15 Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 3 9 13 2 8 

16) Extent of knowledge by age group “To what extent do you speak the following foreign languages?” English Russian German 100 100 100 25 38 40 75 75 52 62 19 46 75 56 61 61 71 74 84 20 50 50 50 37 39 26 25 24 17 25 13 17 15 % 17 14 9 6 0 18-29 34 26 30-39 4 40-49 50-59 % 0 5 18-29 Fluent 21 22 25 23 13 15 7 30-39 Active 12 3 5 40-49 Passive % 0 50-59 17 12 3 18-29 Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 1 5 1 30-39 21 3 4 40-49 50-59 

17) ENGLISH is most commonly stated in Prague and the Olomouc region. “To what extent do you speak English?” (%) Knowledge of English by region 100 32 50 75 61 55 58 55 51 43 46 55 39 45 54 62 17 50 16 19 34 12 16 16 18 21 24 17 11 10 0 Fluent Active 19 20 6 9 20 16 13 20 13 27 17 28 25 20 18 8 8 Passive 24 21 13 6 20 23 19 7 25 12 Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 9 15 7 

18) GERMAN is most commonly stated in the South Bohemia and Karlovy Vary regions “To what extent do you speak German?” (%) Knowledge of German by region 100 38 75 59 40 51 56 62 50 28 25 0 6 22 23 24 12 4 Fluent 10 52 61 62 58 56 70 24 24 25 22 26 21 23 18 24 15 19 11 58 28 27 23 58 3 8 Active 7 14 4 Passive 13 11 10 4 6 7 20 13 4 Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 3 18 3 9 3 

19) RUSSIAN is most commonly stated in the Pardubice region. “To what extent do you speak Russian?” (%) Knowledge of Russian by region 100 75 60 57 63 62 63 63 54 56 58 61 60 60 25 26 26 12 12 12 58 66 50 25 23 14 0 30 24 29 10 3 13 3 Fluent 1 9 31 6 Active 25 12 7 29 32 35 11 3 Passive 4 9 2 2 Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 2 28 20 12 4 12 2 2 

20) FRENCH is stated most commonly in Prague and the Olomouc region. “To what extent do you speak French?” (“fluent” + “active” + “passive”, in percent) Knowledge of French by region 10 9 7 6 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 % 0 Source: STEM, 2014 

21) SPANISH is stated most commonly in Prague and Usti region. “To what extent do you speak Spanish?” (“fluent” + “active” + “passive”, in percent) Knowledge of Spanish by region 10 6 6 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 % 0 0 4 1 Source: STEM, 2014 

22) ITALIAN a bit more common in Prague and the Hradec Králové and Southern Moravia regions. “To what extent do you speak Italian?” (“fluent” + “active” + “passive”, in percent) Knowledge of Italian by region 10 6 5 5 4 3 % 0 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 Source: STEM, 2014 4 3 

23) % POLISH is stated by half of the population in Moravia-Silesia and one-third in East Bohemia. “To what extent do you speak Polish?” (“fluent” + “active” + “passive”, in percent) Knowledge of Polish by region 60 50 52 40 30 33 20 20 18 10 10 11 17 12 12 9 7 7 14 9 0 Source: STEM, 2014 

24) Language examinations As previously stated, English is the most commonly spoken foreign language among the Czech population in the 18-59 demographic (when Slovak is not included). Accordingly, exams in English show the highest numbers. As for English exams, 22% of respondents had passed the final secondary-school exam in English, 11% passed the university exam in English, 4% passed the state-examination and 4 % acquired a certificate in English. The final secondary-school examination in German or Russian was passed by about one-tenth of the population studied. The university exam in German was passed by 5%. The percentage of those who passed more advanced examinations in German or Russian is very low. Source: STEM, 2014 

25) Differences in the percentages of people who have passed foreign language examinations, by region Due to the low percentage of people who know English, German or Russian and passed exams in these languages at secondary school or university, we should take the following breakdown by region only as illustrative for general orientation. The highest percentage of people who have passed the university exam in English can be found in Prague. It is also relatively high in the regions of Southern Moravia and Hradec Králové. The final secondary-school exam in German is most common in South Bohemia. Prague and the Olomouc region show the highest proportion of the final secondary-school exam in Russian. Source: STEM, 2014 

26) ENGLISH - the final secondary-school or university exam, by region, in % The final secondary-school exam in English is most common in Prague 40 34 30 26 25 23 20 20 19 18 19 17 17 14 13 10 14 12 10 9 6 11 10 7 8 6 4 % 0 Final secondary-school exam 22 21 20 University exam Source: STEM, 2014 10 10 

27) GERMAN - the final secondary-school or university exam, by region, in % The final secondary-school exam in German is most common in South Bohemia 30 20 20 11 13 12 10 10 10 10 8 9 8 6 3 11 10 11 7 6 4 6 4 6 4 2 % 0 Final secondary-school exam 9 8 University exam Source: STEM, 2014 4 3 4 

28) RUSSIAN - final secondary-school or university exam, by region, in % Olomouc region and Prague have the highest percentage of people who passed the exam in Russian. 30 22 20 19 17 16 14 13 12 11 12 12 10 9 10 6 5 % 12 4 2 5 3 1 2 2 5 1 1 0 Final secondary-school exam University exam Source: STEM, 2014 4 2 3 

29) Comparison of the survey results with existing empirical evidence with surveys from 2002 and 2008, public surveys. 

30) Comparison of surveys from 2002, 2008 and 2014 CZECHINVEST commissioned three surveys on the knowledge of foreign languages among the population in the 18-59 age group. In 2002 the survey was carried out by UNIVERSITAS. In 2008 it was carried out by AUGUR Consulting. By comparing the findings of these three surveys, we observe STAGNATION in the level of foreign-language knowledge in the Czech Republic. Source: STEM, 2014 

31) Knowledge of at least one foreign language (including Slovak, %) 0 2014 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 78% 2008 2002 80 88% 75% Source: STEM, 2014 90 100 

32) Extent of knowledge of foreign languages 0% 10% 2 14 11 Fluent 24 18 39 49 51 23 57 25 57 26 Active 61 Passive 90% 28 23 15 4 80% 18 18 5 German 2014 70% 34 23 8 German 2008 60% 27 27 11 English 2014 50% 27 16 English 2008 40% 29 15 Slovak 2014 Russian 2014 30% 16 Slovak 2008 Russian 2008 20% Not at all Source: STEM, 2014 100% 

33) Eurobarometer 77.1 Conducted by the Public Opinion Analysis section of the European Commission, Eurobarometer – a survey on foreignlanguage knowledge among the nations of the European Union – was most recently published in 2012. This survey indicated that among the Czech population, 49% percent of Czech people over the age of 15 know at least one foreign language. This percentage is 12 percentage points lower than the finding of the 2005 Eurobarometer. Source: STEM, 2014 

34) Eurobarometer 77.1 findings on the Czech Republic (2012) Percentage of people who speak the following languages: 0 5 10 15 20 English 27% German Russian 25 15% 13% Source: STEM, 2014 30 

35) Forecast of further development in foreign-language knowledge 

36) Development will remain stagnant for several years Surveys carried out recently all point to the fact that the knowledge of foreign languages is not improving. On the contrary, it seems that the Czech Republic has become mired in a state of prolonged stagnation in this respect. Only a slow rate of improvement should be expected due to demographic change. Due to our finding that only 15% of the population aged 18-59 plan to study a foreign language, an increase in knowledge of foreign languages will depend mainly on young age cohorts that are still in school. Source: STEM, 2014