《经济学人》：English fever wanes

Why China is showing less interest in learning the world's lingua franca

According to one ranking, by ef Education First, an international language-training firm, China ranks 91st among 116 countries and regions in terms of English proficiency. Just four years ago it ranked 38th out of 100. Over that time its rating has slipped from “moderate” to “low” proficiency. Some in China question the accuracy of the ef index. But others note that this apparent trend is happening when China is also growing more insular.