Parents most insecure about English skills

Students take an English class in one of middle shcools in Seoul. / Korea Times file

Kim, a mother in her mid-forties, is like most parents in Korea when it comes to English: she desperately wants her son to speak fluently in the language.

“I have even considered selling my house in order to send my son to an English-speaking country,” she told The Korea Times. “If it would improve his English ability, I would do anything.”

Kim is also apparently like other parents in another way: she’s insecure about her own English skills.

According to a recent survey by Yoon’s English School, a private language institution, the thing that parents least want to pass down to their children is their own perceived lack of English skills.

The survey was taken on 617 parents with children in elementary school. More than 70 percent responded they wanted their children to be more proficient in English than they are. This was followed by their desire for their children to have a higher annual salary, at 23.3 percent.

Among the participants who wanted their children to have better English skills, 41.2 percent wanted their children to be able to carry on a basic conversation in English. Some six percent hoped their children would speak English like a native speaker.

Ninety-one percent of the participants said they had been in an embarrassing situation because of their poor English.

For Kim, the situation may be more complex because she is a naturalized Korean, originally from China.

“If I could have handed down English abilities to my son, it would have been much better than handing down Chinese,” she said.

“Many people around me say that my son is better off with his Chinese ability, but English is much more commonly used and important, at least in Korea.

“Sometimes I wished I could have taught him English, not Chinese. It’s sad I am not good at English.”

Her son is now preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Kim said he struggles with the English section of the test.

Her concerns fall in line with the widespread perception here that that entering a prestigious university is the first ― and necessary ― step to landing a good job.