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English Proficiency in Korea

More than half of the world’s population have one of ten languages as their native tongue. English, with about 400 million native speakers, is the third, after Chinese (1.3 billion) and Spanish (485 million). However, if we include people who speak English as a second language, the estimates of English-speaking populations range from between 1.5 billion to 2.0 billion. This makes English the most spoken language worldwide. 

English is also the most influential language, dominating the fields of science, technology, medicine, business, art, etc. There are many reasons why English has become a universal language. The British empire, colonizing close to a quarter of the world’s population, had a significant role in spreading the English language, particularly in Asia and Africa. The emergence of the United States of America as a world power after World War II is another important reason. Technological and scientific development mostly originating in the US and some other English-speaking countries made English the dominant language of science and technology. This economic and technological power has also led to the spreading of English through news, entertainment, and social media. 

As a result, English language proficiency can substantially enhance people’s career prospects, academic pursuits, cultural experiences, access to information, and ability to connect with people globally. Since the economic development of countries increasingly relies on information and global presence, for the foreseeable future English will remain the dominant global “lingua franca” (a language used by people with different native languages to communicate with each other.

The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) is the most common index used  to rank countries for English proficiency  It is produced annually by EF Education First, an international education company. The EF EPI 2023 edition was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2022. The test takers were self-selected from 113 countries and territories. Countries’ English proficiencies are categorized as very high (12 countries), high (18 countries), moderate (33 countries), low (27 countries), and very low (23 countries). 

The report finds that per capita, gross national income and innovation all correlate positively with English proficiency. Overall, Europe has the highest proficiency in English while the Middle East averages the lowest. While people in Engineering and Information Technology rank highest, on the average most industries have levels of English lower than they would need to work optimally (Moderate Proficiency or higher). Men’s English proficiency has outpaced women’s for the first time this year in Asia, driven by India and Thailand, with gender gaps of 21 and 32 points respectively. Expectedly, adults in their 20’s and 30’s remain the best English speakers in Asia.

The top five countries, with scores between 625 and 661, are Northern European countries, except for Singapore (ranked 2nd with a score of 642, after the Netherlands with a score of 661). With a score of 525 South Korea ranked in 49th place in this survey, which is considered moderate proficiency. This represents a 13-spot drop from the previous ranking of 36th place in 2022. China and Japan also experienced declines of 20 and 7 spots respectively, ranking 82nd and 87th.

Korean learners of the English language face many challenges in acquiring the language on a proficient level, even though English is introduced to children at an early age and many private programs teach English as extracurricular programs. Unfortunately, however, only a minority master the language on a proficient conversational level. The reasons seem to stem from cultural and social differences, the significant differences between the two languages: Korean and English, and the Korean Educational System.

The EF-EPI report makes several recommendations for government and educational authorities to improve English proficiency. They include: • Consider the hours available in the curriculum and the proficiency level achievable for each major educational milestone. • Ensure that English is taught only by people who speak the language well • Adjust entrance and exit exams so that they evaluate communicative English skills. • Include English in the training for all new teachers. • Re-train English teachers in communicative teaching methods if they were initially trained using other methods • Assess the English skills of all public servants and provide training as necessary • Provide English language instruction in job centers and unemployment reduction programs. • Give adults access to lifelong learning programs. • Ensure that government-funded adult language courses are long enough and intensive enough for learners to meet their goals. • Develop standardized micro-credentials that certify course quality and improve skill portability. • Allow TV shows and movies to be shown in their original language, with subtitles rather than dubbing.

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