Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gollywog]

What percentage of your students do you believe actually want to learn English? In other words, how many of them would take English if it were not required?

(Privates don't count.)

It seems to me this is difficult to judge because some students who like to study English seem to keep it secret, and are very quiet in class. But I think you can get a pretty good idea, based on the percentage of kids who goof off as much as they can in class, vs. the kids who make a sincere effort to participate and learn.

I presume there is a significant difference between the elementary, middle, high, and college students. Comments are welcome.

Give it your best guess.

[moosehead]

actually I've found little difference in age groups and/or level - it's pretty much a thirty percent average which is what I marked.

out of that, maybe 90 percent of that 30 percent want to become E teachers.

go figure.

[pkang0202]

I'd say more than 50%. Its amazing how during test time I find out that over 70% of my students can actually understand and speak English.

I'm at public elementary school, so I'm guessing the English level of most of my kids are way beyond the "Where are you from?" Grade 6 lesson. I think about half my students actually want to learn English. They just don't want to learn it in my class because its like teaching a 6th grader how to add and subtract numbers.

[Xuanzang]

They dont want to learn it at their hagwons either. I also picked 30% because that`s usually the percentage of keeners in my classes.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I voted 90% but would have chosen 100% if the option had been available. My students have to apply to attend this school. They arrive already motivated.

[hauwande]

i would say about 60-70% of the students enjoy english class. there is a lot of participation from them and the vibe in the room is pretty good. the other 30 odd percent couldn't give a broken pencil.

but of the 70 odd percent; how many participate mainly because of the points system i have? they want to beat the other teams and show off how much english they know!

what percentage actually go home and study what i taught them? in my opinion, this percentage alone determines if they really want to learn english.

maybe this number would be about 5% or so.

[FMPJ]

My students know English.

[T-J]

[caniff]

100%. They are all business people spending their own money (or the company's) to take the classes.

[bogey666]

vocational high school
10%.
in some classes (and this is a stretch) maybe 20%

[Unposter]

Yeah, I think there are a lot of factors that might contribute to intrinsic motivation before your students enter your class including age, educational level and desired educational attainment, parent's educational background, previous educational experiences and your reputation as a teacher (whether deserved or not).

In general the vast majority of Koreans want to KNOW English, somewhat less actually WANT to do what it takes to learn English. But, take a look at yourself, and you will soon see this is a pretty near universal phenomenon.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I voted 5 in 10, but were it not required on the uni exam, it would likely be more like 2 or 3. I guess considering that roughly 50% of my students don't really want to be there, and in my vocational classes more like 25%, my students are pretty nice and cooperative.

[Privateer]

[Gollywog]

The Korean government wants children to learn English, but it seems to me they are not doing a good job of motivating them to learn English. And that's their job, not ours. Korean kids don't seem to want to take advice from foreigners.

Why, exactly, does Korea want all the children to learn English, anyway? How, exactly, do they expect them to use English?

For most of them, according to many posters here, the only reason children are studying English is to pass tests. That's not what I call "motivation." That's coercion.

[CabbageTownRoyals]

I work at a University. 90%, the enthusiasm is great