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The amount of money spent on Koreans¡¯ unending quest to master English was W15 trillion (US$1=W942) last year, three times more than the W5 trillion spent by Japan even though the population there is 2.6 times greater than Korea¡¯s. The Samsung Economic Research Institute in a report titled ¡°The Economics of English¡± on Wednesday estimated Korea¡¯s English-related investment last year at around W14.3 trillion for private lessons and W700 billion for assessment.
The amount corresponds to a staggering 1.9 percent of Korea¡¯s GDP of W806.6 trillion, and 47.5 percent of the W30.1 trillion budget for education. But despite that, Koreans¡¯ command of the English language remains quite poor, the report says. The Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development ranked Koreans¡¯ English skills 35th out of 61 countries. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), which offers information on the business environment in East Asia, pointed to Korea as the country where English communication is the most difficult among 12 Asian nations.
The report recommends changing teaching methods and setting up a trial region where English is used as if it were a common-use language to reform the high cost-low efficiency structure of English education here. The institute suggested teaching general subjects including math and science in both Korean and English in schools, or to increase related events such as English presentations and plays. It urged universities to attract more foreign students and raise the proportion of lectures in English. The report also pinpoints specific areas such as special economic zones that could be designated as regions where people use English like a common-use language.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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