50% of Undergraduates Lack English Proficiency
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Almost half of Korean undergraduates have difficulty speaking English, according to a recent survey of 1,041 students at a local university, conducted by ``Incruit,'' an online recruiting-specialized company.
About 40 percent responded that they understood English when it was spoken quite slowly, while 11.9 percent said it was impossible to communicate in English.
About 39 percent said they can speak English but not fluently, while just 1.8 percent said they can speak English fluently.
``With companies giving more weight to English speaking proficiency in recruiting procedures, job seekers including undergraduates should focus their English practice on improving their speaking ability,'' said Lee Kwang-suk, chief administrator of Incruit.