How good is English in Latin America? What it means for a US employer
The first question most US business owners ask about a hire from Latin America is not about cost or hours. It is “Will my customers understand them?” The honest answer is that English in Latin America depends far more on the person than on the country, and you can find out which kind of person you are talking to before you hire.
This guide covers what the latest data says about English across the region, where it tends to break down, and a simple way to test it for the role you are actually filling.
How good is English in Latin America, on average?
It ranges widely, from some of the stronger scores outside Europe to some of the weaker ones. The best-known yardstick is the EF English Proficiency Index, which ranks 123 countries and regions using test results from 2.2 million adults, according to EF Education First (released November 19, 2025).
Inside Latin America the spread is large. In the 2025 index, Argentina scored 575 and ranked 26th in the world, while Mexico scored 440 and ranked 103rd. The global average on the same index is 488.
Those are averages across millions of test takers, most of whom will never apply to your job. They tell you how common strong English is in a country. They do not tell you whether the person in front of you has it.
Why does the country average matter less than the candidate?
Because you hire one person, not a country. A low national average still includes many people with excellent English, and a high one still includes people who would struggle on your phones.
The EF data also shows big gaps inside the same population. EF reported that Latin America had the widest gap between age groups of any region in the 2025 index. In plain terms, two applicants from the same city can sit at very different levels. That is a reason to test every candidate, not a reason to rule out a region or to trust one.
Where does English usually break down at work?
In speaking and listening, more often than in reading and writing. The 2025 index was the first to measure speaking and writing, and EF found that speaking was the weakest English skill in over half of the countries it measured.
That matches what many employers see. A candidate writes a clean cover letter, holds a friendly interview, and then a customer calls with a fast, specific question. The detail that mattered gets missed. Reading and writing let people slow down. A live call does not.
Listening deserves its own attention. In an interview, the candidate controls the pace and can steer toward topics they know. On the job, the customer sets the pace. Testing listening on its own, with a message the person hears once, is the closest thing to a real Tuesday afternoon.
Why does bilingual matter for a US business?
Because a growing share of your customers may be more comfortable in Spanish. More than 1 in 5 people age 5 and older in the US spoke a language other than English at home, and about 61 percent of them spoke Spanish, according to the US Census Bureau (released June 3, 2025, from 2017 to 2021 survey data).
For a trades, healthcare office or field service company, that can mean the person answering the phone wins or loses the job in the first minute. A team member who is fully bilingual serves both kinds of customers and still writes to your own team in clear English. We covered the basics of this kind of hire in our plain guide to nearshore bilingual staff.
How do I test English skills before I hire?
Test each skill on its own, in the role’s own work, and score it before you meet the person socially. Here is a quick map from what the role needs to what to test.
| Skill | Why it matters | A simple test |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | Emails, tickets and notes your team reads every day | Reply to a real (anonymized) customer email in 15 minutes |
| Speaking | Phone calls and video meetings | A short role-play of the most common call |
| Listening | Catching the one detail a customer says once | Play a recorded message once, then ask what to do |
| Judgment in English | Knowing when to stop and ask | Include a request in the role-play that must be escalated |
Three habits make the test fair and useful:
- Write the bar down first. Decide what “good enough” looks like for this role before you hear anyone. A scheduler who mostly writes needs a different bar from someone on the phones all day.
- Score each skill separately. Strong speaking can hide weak listening. A single overall impression usually means the most confident speaker wins.
- Check it with someone who watched them work. Ask a former manager how the person handled a hard call in English. Our reference check questions for remote hires include questions you can use.
What you are testing, in the end, is clear and correct communication in the situations your customers actually bring.
Common questions
Is English good enough in Latin America to hire for a customer-facing role?
For the right person, yes. Country averages range widely, so judge the candidate, not the country. Test writing, speaking and listening separately before you decide.
Which English skill should I test most carefully?
Speaking and listening. EF found speaking was the weakest English skill in over half of the countries it measured, and listening is the skill a friendly interview tends to miss.
Is an English certificate enough proof?
No. A certificate shows what someone could do on a test day. Ask for a short live task in the role’s own work, such as a customer call or a written reply, and score it.
How Solida runs it
The worry behind the question is fair: a hire your customers cannot understand is work with no owner, and it lands back on whoever is nearest. So we test English the way the job uses it. Communication is one of our five checks, in three parts: writing, speaking and listening, scored separately, under time pressure. Listening is tested on its own, with a recorded message played once, because it is the one that gets missed. A candidate who misses the critical detail when listening does not go forward, even when they speak well.
Within two weeks of our call you receive two finalists, fully bilingual in English and Spanish, each with a one-page summary and their actual work sample. You interview them and choose. Your team teaches the work over fourteen days of onboarding, and there is no monthly bill until you sign off. See how a hire happens, or browse the six roles we fill.
Sources
- EF Education First, EF English Proficiency Index 2025 launched, press release, November 19, 2025.
- EF Education First, EF EPI 2025, Argentina and EF EPI 2025, Mexico, country pages, 2025 edition.
- US Census Bureau, New Data on Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and the Ability to Speak English, June 3, 2025.