[Opinion] Almost Last in English Proficiency

“Choi” is a 50-something businessman who frequently attends business seminars abroad. When asked about how he gets by overseas despite his poor English, he said, “I use the ‘three S strategy’ of sleep, smile and silence.” Koreans study English for six years in secondary school and for another four years in college. They still suffer a lack of English skills, however. That’s why many parents go all out to provide English education to their children, often sending their kids to English-speaking countries at an early age.

The English proficiency of Koreans is terrible, however. The U.K.-developed International English Language Testing System conducted an analysis on the test scores of the 20 countries with the most test takers last year. Koreans ranked 19th for general training and immigration purposes. Though their rank in English for academic purposes was 15th, the results showed that English proficiency among ordinary Koreans is almost dead last among the 20 countries. In contrast to the common belief that Koreans are good at reading English, Koreans ranked 18th in listening and general training reading and 19th in general training writing and speaking.

According to Samsung Economic Research Institute, Koreans spend 15 trillion won on private English education a year(as of 2005). This is three times more than Japan’s figure of five trillion won. Given the vast difference in the populations of the two countries, Koreans spend about eight times more than the Japanese on English education. Something is very wrong here. How can Koreans, who lavishly spend money on and have a burning interest in English, remain in the lower ranks in English skills? Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. His comment is perhaps a perfect description of Korea’s English education. The country needs an alternative.

Korea’s heavy dependency on private education is not a solution for improving English skills, as it will only result in widening a rift between the haves and have-nots. The government should allow public educational institutes to play a bigger role in English education and benchmark the successes of other countries with languages similar in structure to Korean. English education should start earlier than third grade and the curriculum should focus on listening and speaking. Failure to practice a foreign language will lead one to forget what he or she has learned. Therefore, it is important to create an environment where students can use English outside the classroom. Another idea worth consideration is the airing of foreign movies without dubbing in Korean.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)