English divide deepens further

The massive gulf between the rich and poor contributes to a dramatic disparity in English skills, government researchers said Monday.

With the economy in decay, low-income earners are unable to pay for private language courses while the quality of public education just isn’t cutting it.

This marginalizes them in society even more as English proficiency is critical in entering a top university and landing a good job, according to the authors of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) study.

The report, titled “Equality and Effectiveness of English Education,’’ suggests that there is a correlation between the English scores of high school students in the state college entrance exam and the income levels of their parents.

A difference of 1 million won in annual household income was equivalent to 2.9 percentage points in the nationwide English score rankings, the researchers claimed.

Better English skills ultimately score better paychecks too. An extra 100 points in the widely used Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) means 160,000 won more in annual income by rough calculations.

“The government needs to increase English education support for students from low-income families as they are deprived of the chance to learn the language,” said KDI’s Kim Hee-sam.

He also said that these programs will need to focus more on speaking and writing skills to narrow the gap with students from affluent families.

Korea’s obsession with English starts from a very young age. Just ask five-year-old Kimi Hae-ttul, who takes 30-minute English classes two times a week at his kindergarten in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

His mother, Lim Soo-hyang says “English is a mandatory subject in the curriculum. The kindergarten charges 50,000 won for the class.’’

English is one of three major subjects in middle and high schools along with Korean and mathematics. Companies also prefer employees who can speak English fluently as their overseas business opportunities are increasing.

The KDI report said that private tutoring is a key element which makes the difference. According to the Statistics Korea, high-income households earning 7 million won a month spent 163,000 won for private English tutoring monthly, 10 times more than households earning less than 1 million won.

Private English tutoring also represents a regional divide. Surveys show that most elementary students in the affluent Gangnam area of southern Seoul take private English courses, while the proportion was lower in other districts.

Kim from the KDI said that the effectiveness of English education also remains headache of the country.
“State-run companies require high English scores although they do not need high quality English skills at their job. In contrast, employees from technology and medical industries show poor English abilities comparing to their occupational needs. We need to address this situation,’’ he said. <Korea Times/Kim Jae-won>

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