I don't think that many Europeans would even attempt to consume native English-language media without some formal education. This is a likelier scenario in smaller, information-poor countries. If you look at the actual research, relatively few Europeans consume significant amounts of raw English-language entertainment.
The Flash Eurobarometer User language preferences online was conducted to examine Internet users’ attitudes and opinions towards the use of different languages on the Internet. In detail, the survey examined:
- Languages, other than respondents’ own, that are used on the Internet: (a) when reading or watching content on the Internet, and (b) when writing on the Internet
- Use of a language, other than respondents’ own, for different Internet activities
...
"Readers of this report should bear in mind that Flash Eurobarometer (No 313) only included Internet users and that the proportion of Internet users varied greatly between EU Member States:
In countries, such as the Netherlands and Sweden, more than 90% of all individuals contacted during the survey’s fieldwork reported having used the Internet in the four weeks prior to the survey. In other words, a survey among Internet users ...covers almost the whole adult population of these countries.
Other countries, such as Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, had lower Internet penetration rates and less than half of all individuals contacted reported having used the Internet in the past four weeks. In these countries, the population of Internet users represents a selective group of the total adult population – a group of adults that was more likely to be male, younger, highly educated and living in urban/metropolitan areas; in other words, a group of adults that was more likely to have literacy and language skills in a language, other than their own.
Languages, other than respondents’ own, that are used on the InternetA slim majority (55%)
of Internet users in the EU said that they used at least one language other than their own to read or watch content on the Web and slightly more than a third (35%) used another language when writing emails, sending messages or posting comments on the Web.
In 23 of the 27 EU Member States, at least half of Internet users used a language other than their own to read and watch content on the Internet; this proportion ranged from 50% in Hungary to 90%-93% in Greece, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus. In Italy, the Czech Republic, Ireland and the UK, a majority of Internet users said that they only used their own language to read and watch content on the Internet (between 52% and 85%). "
Note: In Germany 35% of Internet users said that they only used their own language.
"English was by far the most frequently used language, other than respondents’ own, when going online: 48% of Internet users in the EU mentioned using English for reading or watching content on the Internet.
When looking at the frequency of using English on the Internet, it was noted that those who used this language occasionally outnumbered those who used it frequently or all the time.In all EU Member States, browsing the Internet to get information, reading or watching the news and communicating with friends and acquaintances were mentioned by some of the largest proportions of respondents as online activities that they at least occasionally carried out in a language other than their own.
Respondents’ opinions about the availability of websites in several languages
Although 9 in 10 Internet users in the EU said that, when given a choice of languages, they always visited a website in their own language, a slim majority (53%) would accept using an English version of a website if it was not available in their own language.
Furthermore, while two-thirds – or more – respondents in Sweden (67%), Slovenia (68%), Bulgaria and Lithuania (both 69%) said they had gone online several times a day in the past four weeks, only half as many Italians gave a similar response (33%).
The younger the respondents were, the more likely they were to have used the Internet several times a day in the past four weeks; the proportion of “heavy” Internet users increased from 48% of the over 54 year-olds to 65% of the 15-24 year-olds. Similarly, while 36% of respondents with the lowest level of education used the Internet this frequently, this proportion increased to 62% for those with the highest level of education and 65% for full-time students.
Men, 15-39 year-olds, full-time students, respondents with the highest level of education, those living in metropolitan areas, employees and the self-employed were also more likely than their counterparts to say that they used at least one language other than their mother tongue to read or watch content on the Internet. For example, 67% of respondents with the highest level of education and 79% of full-time students said they used another language than their own to read or watch content on the Internet, compared to 25% of respondents with the lowest level of education. Similarly, 60% of the 15-24 year-olds and 43% of 25-39 year-olds said they used a different language than their own when writing online, compared to 31% of the 40-54 year-olds and 24% of over 54 year-olds.
English was by far the most frequently used language, other than the respondents’ own, for reading or watching content on the Internet. Almost half (48%) of Internet users in the EU mentioned using English for these online activities. Spanish, German and French were other languages that were mentioned by a relatively high number of respondents (4%-6%).
Among those who used English for reading or watching content on the Internet, 13% said that they used this language all the time and 26% said that they used it frequently, while a
majority (61%) answered that they occasionally used English for reading and watching content.
In the UK and Ireland, where not many Internet users mentioned using a second language, French was the most commonly used foreign language for reading or watching content on the Internet (9% and 7%, respectively).Country variations – frequency of using EnglishThe individual country results for those who used English to read or watch content on the Web showed that
respondents in Germany, France, Poland and Austria were the least likely to use English frequently or all the time for the these online activities (between 29% and 32%).
Among those who used English for these online activities, certain socio-demographic groups were more likely than others to be frequent users – using English frequently or all the time, rather than occasionally, to read or watch content on the Web. These frequent users of English were more likely to be men (46% vs. 32% of women), those with the highest level of education and full-time students (43% and 50%, respectively, vs. 28%-30% across all other educational groups), younger respondents (
49% of 15-24 year-olds and 45% of 25-39 year-olds vs. 33%-34% across other age groups), metropolitan residents (47% vs. 30% of rural residents) and the self-employed (47% vs. 29% of manual workers and 39% of employees and non-working respondents).
The more frequently respondents used the Internet, the more likely they were to say that they used English frequently or all the time online: 46% for “heavy” users vs. 16% for the least frequent Internet users (“about once a month”).
Across almost all EU Member States, browsing to get information, or reading or watching the news was the most frequently mentioned online activity
performed in a language other than the respondent’s own. Respondents in Luxembourg and Slovenia were the most likely to say that they at least occasionally used a language other than their own when browsing to get information or reading or watching the news on the Web (both 96%). Respondents in Italy and the UK, on the other hand, were the least likely to say that they at least occasionally used a language other than their own when browsing the Internet to get information or when reading or watching the news on the Web (68%-70%).
In almost all Member States, a majority of respondents said that they used a language other than their own when searching for or buying products (e.g. online shopping) and services (e.g. tourism) on the Internet.
Compared with other activities discussed so far, respondents in most Member States were less likely to use a language other than their own when browsing for entertainment . While Slovenes (67%), Greeks (71%) and Cypriots (78%) were the most likely to use another language when browsing for entertainment on the Web, less than 4 in 10 respondents did so in the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Ireland and the UK (36%-38%). Furthermore, the proportion of respondents who said they used a foreign language frequently or all the time when browsing for entertainment remained below 33% in almost all countries (from 11% in the Netherlands to 31% in Slovenia)."
The younger the respondents, the more likely they were to carry out the following Internet activities in a foreign language: browsing to get information, or reading or watching the news (89% of 15-24 year-olds vs. 76% of over 54 year-olds), communicating with friends and acquaintances (76% vs. 56%), browsing the Internet for entertainment (77% vs. 26%) and learning about job or educational opportunities (61% vs. 29%).
On the other hand, 25-39 year-olds were more likely than their counterparts to use a language other than their own to communicate online for professional reasons (63% vs. 39% of over 54 year-olds), to search for or buy products and services online (62% vs. 48%) and to carry out banking operations online (28% vs. 20%).
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_313_en.pdf
