Average Korean child starts English studies at age 4.3

Korean children start learning English at age 4.3 on average, and the more educated the mother the earlier a child begins, according to a survey by Yoon’s English School, a local private English institute, on Tuesday.

A poll of 667 mothers conducted from Dec. 28 to Jan. 5 found that 42.7 percent said they started their children’s English education when they were between the ages of three and four.

About 28.6 percent said they had their children begin learning English at between five and six years old.

Some children started to learn English between one and two years old (14.8 percent) or under one year old (1.3 percent).

Mothers with bachelor’s and master’s degrees on average start the English education of their children at the ages of 4.1 and 4.5, respectively, earlier than those with only a high school diploma, who start to have their children learn at 5.2.

Children in Seoul and nearby cities started their English education on average at 4.2, a little earlier than those in provincial areas, who begin at 4.7.

The main factors listed for determining when to start English education were based on when other parents started their children’s ESL education (32.7 percent); when their children learn to speak Korean (27.7 percent); when children start saying their first words (16.2 percent); and when schools start to include English in their curricula (12.3 percent).

More than half of the mothers (60.7 percent) thought the age they started their children’s English education was appropriate, while 19.9 percent said they were late; 12.9 percent said they were early; and 6.4 percent responded that they didn’t know.

When asked how they feel about seeing other children start to learn English earlier than their children, 41.2 percent said they feel uneasy because their children may get left behind. But 31.6 percent said they feel bad seeing overly enthusiastic mothers.

But experts note that an early start doesn’t always guarantee the English proficiency of children.

“We have seen children start to learn English at younger ages than usual, but starting early is not everything in the success of English education,” said Won Yong-guk of the English Education Research Center at Yoon’s English School.

“Parents need to decide the right time for the English education of their children considering their developmental stage and interest in the language,” Won stressed.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)