Infografico del estudio English Impact del British Council

What is English Impact?

English Impact is an independent research project which aims to assess English Language capability by measuring the current ability of a targeted sample of the school population from Government funded schools in Madrid using an English language assessment.

It also evaluates future potential through an in-depth analysis of students’ language learning opportunities in and outside the classroom, language learning motivations and socio economic background.

Objectives

The English Impact aims outlined and investigated were: 

  1. Evaluate the English language capability of students studying at public schools within the Madrid region of Spain.
  2. Compare the outcomes in schools participating in the regions Bilingual programme with those not yet participating in the programme. 
  3. Understand the relationship between English language learning motivation and increased proficiency.  

Research methodology 

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, in collaboration with the British Council, and under the advice of sampling experts, the Australian Council for Research in Education (ACER), English Impact evaluated almost 1800 students across 170 schools. Skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking were assessed as well as student’s being asked to report on their learning background and motivations for learning English. 

English Impact Madrid has established a benchmark on the level of English across publically funded schools across Madrid by following rigorous research methods as established in internationally recognised surveys such as the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). 

Key findings

  • 34 per cent of the participating population achieving at B2 or C1 CEFR level in the English language assessment.
  • 38.5 per cent of the entire participating population achieved at B1 CEFR level. 
  • Across the region listening was the most highly achieving skill, followed by writing, then reading, with speaking the lowest achieving skill.
  • Students from bilingual schools performed better than students from non-bilingual schools across all skills.  
  • Female students performed better than male students across all skills. 
  • Motivation is clearly related to proficiency, with confidence in language learning found to be most closely related to achievement.

See also

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