Korean Job Discussion Forums

[UncleAlex]

Recently 95 girls and 106 boys in High School Year 1 were subjects of a survey
on studying English here on the peninsula. Here is a sample of the survey:

1) How long have you been studying English?
74% of the students have been studying English since elementary school.

2) Have you ever had English Conversation classes at school before entering
high school?
81% replied, "No".

3) When did you start taking English classes with a native English teacher?
77% replied, "In high school".

4) How many hours do you spend studying English in a week?
46% spend 1-3 hours of private studying outside of class a week.
An alarming 34% don't study outside of class at all.

5) How much are you interested in English? (The language or studying?)
42% are interested to a degree; 58% are disinterested to some degree.

6) How much interested are you in a converesation class with a native English teacher?
43% are interested to some degree; 57% are somewhat disinterested

7) How much helpful are English Conversation classes?
Very helpful 9%; Helpful 35%; A little helpful 50%; not helpful 6%

Well, what do these stats tell you? Any comments?

[laogaiguk]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Indeed that's a little sad. It's a shame they can't just take the 50% of students who are actually interested and put them in classes appropriate to their level. How many students are still studying French by grades 11-12 in Canada?

I teach in a small, rural town and I would guess that about 98% of my high school students have never had a native English teacher before me.

[UncleAlex]

Indeed, one does have to take into account the number of students surveyed,
which in this case is small, the locality of the students and the academic quality
of their schools. If this particular group of students come from different areas
and schools or from just one particular school, either way I question the reliability of
any such survey that consists of this small number of selected students.

[Hater Depot]

In any survey it's not the sample size to worry about but rather the sampling method.

[some waygug-in]

It doesn't surprise me at all. Korean children are being forced to study a language that they have little or no interest in learning.

The few that are interested can do well if they try, the rest...well. c'est la vie.

I seem to recall a similar situation when I had to study French in Canada.

[ajuma]

[Hyeon Een]

[tzechuk]

It tells me that the person who phrased the questions are not marketing researchers, because the questions are rather poorly worded.

Plus the English is strange.. how much interested are you.. blah blah blah... why not just how interested are you blah blah blah?

[ajuma]