Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ManintheMiddle]

Just how do Korean students of English compare in East Asia?

The answer, of course, depends on what were measuring, be it motivation to learn, language competence, or academic resources. And the answer varies depending on the level of education we're looking at. These rankings (garnered from numerous sources) focus on the top quarter of all high school school leavers.

So let's break it down:

According to comparative mixed methods research findings in SLA, in terms of the ability to deal with stress brought on by studying a foreign language, in this case English, the ranking goes as follows.

1. Mainland Chinese students
2. Japanese students
3. Taiwanese students
4. Korean students
5. Hong Kong students

In terms of preparation to continue learning English at the college level of the average HS graduate (limited to grammar, mechanics, and usage):

1. Mainland Chinese students
2. Hong Kong students
3. Taiwanese students
4. Korean students
5. Japanese students

In terms of exposure to extensive reading in English:

1. Mainland Chinese students
2. Hong Kong students
3. Taiwanese students
4. Japanese students
5. Korean students

In terms of vocabulary acquisition in English:

1. Mainland Chinese
2. Hong Kong students
3. Taiwanese students
4. Korean students
5. Japanese students

In terms of overall motivation to learn English:

1. Hong Kong students
2. Mainland Chinese students
3. Taiwanese students
4. Japanese students
5. Korean students

In terms of attitudes toward the cultures of the target language:

1. Hong Kong students
2. Taiwanese students
3. Mainland Chinese students
4. Japanese students
5. Korean students

In terms of the oral English skills:

1. Hong Kong students
2. Taiwanese students
3. Mainland Chinese students
4. Japanese students
5. Korean students

In terms of writing skills:

1. Taiwanese students
2. Mainland Chinese students
3. Hong Kong students
4. Korean students
5. Japanese students

In terms of scores on the TOEFL and GRE:

1. Mainland Chinese students
2. Korean students
3. Hong Kong students
4. Taiwanese students
5. Japanese students

In terms of the government's demonstrated commitment to English:

1. Hong Kong
2. China
3. Taiwan
4. Korea
5. Japan

Are you surprised by these rankings? If so, why? If not, why not?

Or do you take issue with them?

[caniff]

Got a link for this?

[ManintheMiddle]

caniff asked:

[caniff]

[bogey666]

the one that jumps out at me is the Koreans ranking at the bottom for everything EXCEPT TOEFL and GRE scores.

what does this suggest?

I would also take issue with the "govt committment to English" category.

Is English required teaching in Chinese public schools for e.g? like it is in Korea?

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

Interesting. I was surprised at some of the findings though not so surprised at most of them. The results give interesting little snippets of insight into the different values and traits and their priority within the different nations.

[Konglishman]

In terms of rankings, this would seem to suggest that outside of China, the Taiwanese are doing the best at learning English.

I suppose that I could easily be wrong about this, but I would think that on average this probably translates into having a better work environment for the teacher. Or at the very least, one would think that having more motivated students will give more satisfaction to the teacher, in question.

I have heard that the pay is nearly on par with South Korea. Perhaps, Taiwan is the place to be for ESL teachers.

Of course, as for myself, ESL is at best, a side issue for me as I don't teach English. Nonetheless, I would wouldn't mind teaching in Taiwan, but just not English. Incidentally, I recently noticed a Taiwan advertisement inviting qualified teachers to teach academic subjects in English.

[Bibbitybop]

[ManintheMiddle]

bogey666 wondered:

[samd]

Stevemcgarrett is back!!

With some unsubstantiated findings to boot.

[makemischief]

Bopman noted:

[Guri Guy]

Funny stuff

Certainly sounds believable.

[Colorado]

Some anicdotal evidence. I taught at a rural high school Thailand for two years. Some of my students went to the International Scout Jamboree, I think it was in Hong Kong that year. They had a great time and talked a great deal about their experience. They said that the common language among participants was Enlgish and they hung out with other scouts from throughout Asia, except for the Korean scouts, whose English they said, was incomprehensible.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[ManintheMiddle]

Colorado observed: