Well... a VFR newbie... I guess I fit into that group, with just below 100 hours of total flying time in Spain... and a controller-to-be too! Phew, can't get much lower than that, can I?
As you say, Plumaveloz, English is the key to improve situational awareness, and ESARR5 will eventually take care of this... hopefully! But some positive attitude is needed as well from every individual... I have even heard pilots reporting in Catalan (a language used in certain areas of Spain) when other english and german pilots (who might understand some spanish, but Catalan is beyond question) where sharing the frequency... and the airspace
!! So it was a unicom frequency, but in a small crowded area... Now tell me about safety! I don't feel comfortable in these situations, and tend to make cross reports for the foreign pilots, which they are more than happy to receive.
The ability to comunicate in english (which is what you need in the air) can't rely on some multiple-choice tests about standard phraseology, as they use to get a CPL (with things just slowly changing, mainly as requirements to apply for a job at one of the big ones). I would also say that VFR pilots should be familiar with standard VFR phraseology in english... And self confident enough to use it if the situation arises!
On the controller's side, I think that the method used nowadays in Spain to asses the knowledge and fluency in English is quite good (written tests are only used in the first stages of the selection process).
Happy landings!
Rob
PD: Nice to see you're around here too, A.!!