Are Koreans scared to speak English?

Korean is said to be one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn, along with Chinese and Japanese. This means also vice versa: English may be the hardest language for Japanese and Koreans to learn.

Why do Koreans have difficulty with English?

The phonetic system, pronunciation and the grammatical structure of the two languages are all extremely different. There are many sounds in the English language that simply do not exist in the Korean language, and this causes a multitude of pronunciation difficulties for Korean learners of English.

Do they speak good English in South Korea?

English is not very widely spoken in South Korea overall, although you will have better luck in the capital Seoul, where there will be more English speakers in the main tourist areas. That said, just like Japan, visitors there report that the language barrier and the lack of English will not stop you getting around.

Do South Koreans want to learn English?

Even with their high rate of cultural exportation, Korea realizes the value of having a population with knowledge of the English language. Because of this demand for English education, Korea is one of the best countries to get a job as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher.

What English words can Koreans not pronounce?

There are at least 7 vowels in English that do not exist in Korean: /I/ (as in “bit”), /ae/ (as in “apple”), the “u” sound as in “put”, the “or” sound (as in “for”, “author” and “gnaw”), the /aI/ diphthong (as in “like”), the “or-I” diphthong (as in “boy” or “oil”), and the “au” diphthong (as in “cow” or “allow”).

Do Korean kids know English?

Korean students start learning English, on average, when they are 3.7 years old; about 150,000 students go abroad every year to improve their English; and English education expenses amount to 15 trillion won each year. Many Koreans blame the educational system for their English skills being far from satisfactory.

What is school like in Korea?

The Education System The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. In 1996 only about five percent of Korea’s high schools were coeducational.