This is the fourth in a series of articles offering helpful strategies to help students prepare for the English-language portion of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). ― ED.

By Kim Yu-sun
Global Student Reporter

This year, over 670,000 students took the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT). Competition was fierce, as always, and opinions differ on how difficult the English language portion of the test was. According to the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Examination, this year's CSAT English test was similar to last years. Meanwhile, experts from the private education industry said the exam may have been more difficult than the trial exams.

It was estimated that the number of students with perfect scores may have decreased to approximately 5000. Amid measures taken to curb private education, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology promised that the exam would not be difficult. At the same time, the government has been struggling to limit the number of students with perfect scores, as parents have raised questions over the capability of the CSAT to assess students' English abilities.

Students gave varied responses regarding the difficulty of the exam. The English-language portion of the exam had more advanced level questions than other subjects, meaning that the competition among students with the highest scores depends on their English scores. Other students said that due to unfamiliar passages and the speed of the listening comprehension section, they found it to be challenging.

Tips from Past Examinees

Lee Soo-jung, 21, an undergraduate majoring in education at Yonsei University said, "Usually students repeat similar mistakes. The most important thing is to analyze passages and questions until you get it right, and invent your own strategy to interpret long passages. This method applies to any other subject." When asked how she prepared for the English portion, she replied, "The CSAT itself is about time management. Especially, in the last stage of preparation, it is essential that you watch your time when solving problems, so you do not panic when you encounter unfamiliar questions during the actual test."

Many students emphasized that building vocabulary is essential to getting a high score. Park Chan-myung, a student in the economics department of Korea University, said, "I used almost every method I could to increase my vocabulary. I would look up every new word I found and made my own vocabulary lists. Online classes also helped, as they often provided useful tips.

"However, the ideal way to improve English is absorbing it in a natural way, rather than simply memorizing new words."

To improve reading comprehension, experts advise students to expose themselves to various reading materials including novels and short stories. Reading opinion pieces and editorials in newspapers are also effective ways to improve one's reading skills, as they tend to have a simple, logical structure. This may be helpful especially for solving long passage questions on the CSAT.

Private Education and CSAT

Indeed, the best strategy to get a high score on the CSAT, or any other English test, is to spend time in a natural environment that encourages students to become more comfortable with English. In reality, however, public education cannot provide such an ideal environment. Parents typically look to the private education market to fulfill this need. Therefore, the nationwide obsession for English education is seeing students either going abroad to study or enrolling in private cram schools.

The government has been trying to accommodate such demands by enforcing educational reforms and hiring native English teachers at public schools. Previous installments in this series of articles ― "Tips for Getting High Score on English Test" (Nov. 15) and "English-Language Test Requires Analytical Mind" (Nov. 19) ― also suggested various alternatives to private education.

The CSAT is focused on assessing the general comprehension skills of students rather than their communication abilities. Either way, the demand for private cram schools has continuously expanded. In a society where a high CSAT score leads to better higher education, which is then perceived to guarantee a promising career, parents and students are desperate. This has made the CSAT more a major national event than a mere college entrance exam.

Future Prospects for English Education in Korea

English education on a larger scale means more investment in human capital, and a greater degree of globalization. For Korean students, English education means far more than achieving a high CSAT score. The fundamental purpose is to utilize English as a communicative tool and a method to access a vast amount of information.

After entering university, students become more exposed to English and must be able to comprehend texts originally written in the language. More classes are being conducted in English, meaning that students are required to have some verbal and debating skills too. This leads to the conclusion that primary and secondary English education must quickly evolve.

Kim Yu-sun is a junior majoring in economics at Korea University.