Korean parents consider their English language abilities to be the least desirable aspect of themselves for their children to take after, a survey found Wednesday.

According to a survey conducted by the English language institute Yoons English School, 71.5 percent of parents with children in elementary school want their children to have higher English proficiency than themselves.

Regarding the level of proficiency they want for their children, 41.2 percent considered being able to hold a conversation as sufficient. About a quarter of the respondents said that being able to conduct business in English, while 19.4 percent said that level of English proficiency that would allow the children to get the job they want would suffice.

About 6.1 percent of the parents said that they wanted their children to be able to become native speakers. Regarding ways to improve their children’s English proficiency, the most popular answer was private education, followed by studying abroad.

Aside from English language abilities, the respondents picked their jobs and salaries as the second-least desirable aspect to pass on, followed by proficiency in a second foreign language, wealth and profession.



By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)