Can Top 1% Korean Students Speak English? | Street Interview

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i think their grasp of English is much better than what they think. there only problem is the confidence that comes from using the language more.

learning a language should be 50% studying and 50% actually experiencing it through various media and conversations. you cant learn a language properly just from a textbook.

Unfortunately for most people, learning a language is not something you can learn “only” from classes at school.

These students are too hard on themselves, they did really well

Some of the girls in particular really sounded like they had lived in the US for a while, even including filler words and sounds. Being interviewed can be stressful enough even in your native language; they all did really well.

Admittedly I think they underscored themselves. They did really well. I can’t speak any other languages and am always in awe of others who even speak basic languages. Amazing 👏

I lived in Korea, many speak english very well but underestimate their abilities. They feel the need to be perfect. Their brain overreacts and they freeze up or become shy. It's a confidence issue more than skill problem.

8:27 my man calculated every possible outcome in every parallel universe and determined it was not worth talking about lmfao

Well done to them all. Not only did they have to carry on a conversation on the spot, they were also being filmed at the same time. That is a LOT of pressure. They did well. ❤😊❤

The guy in the blue t-shirt wearing glasses has such an amazing English level, his calm and collected demeanour is also impressive and cool

I have been living in North America for 30 years, every so often I visit Korea to see my family.
I remember this one time I went to the local gym to work out in Korea near my parent's neighborhood.
I got a personal trainer and my trainer was training 40-50 year old man, and a kid around 12-15 I think and me at the same time.
This teenage kid was supposed to be some really smart kid that goes to some prestigious school in Korea. When this kid learned that I speak fluent English, he wanted to show off his English skills by communicating with me in English only. This is how the conversation went...
Him: Hello.
Me: Hey.
Him: How are you?
Me: Not too good, I am still trying to get used to the heat in South Korea, but other than that I guess I can't complain.
Him: * pauses in confusion *
Him: 왜 "I'm fine thank you. And you?" 하지않아 형?
At this point my trainer smacked him on the head and said, that's just memorizing text book, not speaking English.

Speaking from experience (people in Asia I've known and met personally), they are just humble and tend to underestimate themselves. A lot of them speak really well actually!

I used to think Korean students are able to speak much better English than their Chinese counterparts. After watching this video, I start to realize that the situation in Korea is quite similar to that in China, where most people studied English but never got a chance to apply it to a real-life context when they were students. Unless you have the opportunity to study abroad, English is not a medium of everyday communication.

Japanse native here! Great piece! They're all good speakers bar a few grammatic mistakes. While I'm no top 1% or korean, I felt to share a short personal story here.
I got into English much like this girl 11:32 by watching movies, YT, and media based in English-- It was Batman the animated series for me. I wanted to understand it. However, while practicing English I realised that a Language is a tool of basic human communication, it's not at all academic and necessitates books until you make it so. The only thing language needs to grow is a mouth willing to share and an ear willing to care. A mother does not use a book to teach a child, she simply communicates with sounds that seem interesting the the child.
For me, I sucked major ass in English, got negative score two years in a row. Spelt words like a toddler. Spoke them like a dyslexic. Heard them like someone slurping Yakisoba with a freezing tongue. I was only able to speak and write well because I started played multiplayer video games in western lobbies. I made sure to use new words that I learned in following sentences. This practice took me a year to familiarise accents, dialects, and personal manners of speech. Did it consistantly by playing 3 hours everyday with my mic on and making sure there wasn't a quiet moment in the VC. If someone said I should stop talking I simply changed the squad, team, or the server. ( luckily this never transpired ) lmao
I say anyone can, with a shamelessly willing desire to talk with other people from across the pond; it takes practice but I'm sure you can do it!
If you read this here, then I thank you for coming to my unsolicited TED Talk.

As a 1st gen KoAM, I am very impressed with their speaking ability considering that they didn't really live or study abroad. Some didn't have a heavy K accent! Of course, interviewees would be considered "elite" students.
My parents were both college educated and when they migrated to the USA, their biggest obstacle was verbal communication. But they probably had easier than other immigrants since they could read and write. I came over at elementary school age and I don't have K-accent. My cousins who came over at a slightly older age (middle and high school ages) generally kept their K-accent.

i currently teach English in Korea and the kids really are shy to speak English but much more when they're older. There is definitely a confidence issue. I've taught in elementary and middle schools, and in the latter they were more hesitant to speak, even if it was just for practice. but other factors like competition or fear of judgment (maybe bullying?) from their peers do come into play as well. the students are good at memorizing but definitely need more help with being comfortable enough to talk freely or make casual conversation. i wish exams like 수능 weren't such a heavy priority, just like some of these SNU students commented.

Everyone did a great job! Even their accents were really good. As a native English speaker, I could only wish to speak another language so well. I wish our language educational system wasn’t such a joke.

They did an amazing job. They have good pronunciation and they definitely underscored themselves. It isn't easy to learn a foreign language. I love learning languages too. I'm learning Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai. In October, I'm actually moving to Japan to study Japanese more intensively. So I admire these young college students for speaking a second language so well. Especially when it's so different from Korean sentence structure and grammar. The woman in the black leather jacket and the other woman in the plaid shirt both sounded like native English speakers to be honest. The accent and pronunciation were like flawless.

This interviewer is really good at keeping the conversation moving forward with relevant follow up questions, as opposed to just asking another question from a prepared list that may not progress the subject matter further. Great job!

I have visited and had presented academic work in at least two top universities in South Korea and, comparing to top Japanese universities I’ve been, Korean students speaks much better English than Japanese. I was wondering why but seems like only people who aims to leave abroad really put some effort learning English

They did well to speak english. Wish them well in their studies at SNU.
A 'helicopter' mum is basically when the mum is always hovering around their child, keeping an eye on everything they do, where they go, who they're with etc 😂

They said their English sucks but after listening to them i was like really even mastering the accent lmao 😂

Learning other languages, not just English but other languages too, you can't really learn it easily by just studying it, you have to make it part of your life, use it as much as possible, be surrounded by people who speak with it, talk to others, may it face to face or digitally, use it like it's your mother tongue, that way, you can really learn it.

I seriously fell backwards in my chair when the girl at 6:01 later said she'd only lived in America when she was 2! Holy wow! Well done to everyone, honestly, it's so hard to speak in an interview, let alone in another language. Really impressed with a lot of the really high level vocabulary and expressions people used on the fly as well. :)

i think they did good, English is my 3rd language (as most Indonesian speaks their local language, Bahasa and some English). and being asian, English is a challenge; we only taught theories and grammars at school and rarely have the chance to converse in english with native speakers. i myself sharpen my english while working as a part-time tour guide back when i was in college where i got the chance to converse with foreigners in English. I think one of the most important thing to do in learning any language which is not our 1st language, is confidence to converse in that language (after understanding the theories and grammar). basically practice make perfect and dont be worried or affraid of making mistake, that's how we learn and progress.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the club mentioned at 18:40 and even many of those Korean students shared the same sentiments of self-doubt in their English ability. Funnily enough though, their English was comparable to some of my friends back in the US, but being some of the highest achieving people I've met, it always seemed like that pressure skewed their perception. If it isn't perfect then it isn't good enough, whereby perfect in this case is native-like proficiency. Through all my interactions with SNU students not once have I felt that I couldn't communicate in English, or at the very least a combination of Korean and English. All that to say that the people in video did really well and should cut themselves some slack!

I studied abroad in Korea and was part of one of those clubs like the girl was describing, where Korean and foreign students do activities together, and it was a great experience for them to practice their English, and we could also practice Korean with people that we became friends with.

very well done! I really love watching your guys. The vids are always amazing and with a fab quality. Anyways, every single person you guys interviewed sounded quite fluent to my ears. They were able to communicate their thoughts freely, sometimes struggling just to find the right vocabulary to finish their thoughts, but it is actually very common when you are not using the language in your daily life. They would be able to brush up their skills in no time once they start having more contact with English speakers. One thing I do have to agree with is that most of schools teach their students how to pass an examination and have a nice score which is required by some Unis but they forget how to teach their students to become an international citizen. They are taught how to mimic not how to think by themselves and by not being able to express their thoughts freely makes It harder for them to even gain the knowledge and the confidence to explore the language and think outside their boxes.

So interesting to hear that SNU has a club to connect foreign students with local Korean students. UCLA has a similar club, it's called Global Siblings. The club at UCLA is quite competitive to get into. When you apply you list the languages you speak/are learning, your major and other interests, your experiences abroad and with people from other countries or who speak English as a second/foreign language (I only know the application as a local American student, it is probably a bit different for the foreign students) I was accepted into thie club for my final two years at UCLA and was paired with Korean students both times. My first year was with an exchange student from Korea Natl Uni who was only going to be at UCLA for that one year. She's the one who told me about English teachers in Korea and that I should look into that kind of job if I was interested. She's a middle school English teacher in Seoul now! The second year I was paired with an international student from Korea who studied at UCLA all 4 years (we were both in our final year). By the time I met her I'd already decided I wanted to teach in Korea for at least a year, so she gave me a lot of advice and tips to prepare for moving to and living in Korea. I've had the chance to see them both even after they moved back to Seoul since I moved to Korea as well in 2018 and have been living here for nearly 5 years now.
I really wish clubs like this were more accessible and could accept more students because it was probably the most important part of my college experience and is the reason I have the life I have today. If I hadn't been accepted into the club at UCLA I never would have even considered the career I have now and probably never would've had many chances to interact with the massive international student population at that school.

Kudos for trying your best at speaking English good job guys 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

They did so well. It was a spontaneous interview with camera. So so well. Congratulations kids ❤

Using new languages is very difficult. The biggest issue we often face is confidence. I am learning new languages right now and honestly reading and writing in the languages, while also understanding is nice, but speaking it is what gets shaky because you loose confidence.

As someone who considers themselves as being good in English in school, I learned very late that being good in understanding written English is different than actually speaking and expressing your opinion in conversations. It opened my eyes that it should be the norm for learning any language and have tried using a more balanced method since then in teaching conversational English.
And also, I read some of the English questions for the College Entrance Exam they were talking about and the questions were topics you're not even going to talk about in most instances. In my opinion, it's unnecessarily hard, and just enforces passive English usage and overthinking in conversational expressions.

Here in the Philippines, although we grew up speaking English and also as a part of mode teaching in school. A lot of us struggle in having a conversation in English eloquently especially if we need to practice it. But still, our English speaking skills are way better and can carry a passable conversation than other Asian counterparts and like in Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, etc. #RealTalk

the video quality is great!

As a Filipino learning the American English, not the classroom English I feel the struggle because when you study English, you not just have to learn how to speak it, but you also have to learn the right pronunciation, and the list of different Idioms use in every-day life

The grammatical structure of Korean language is drastically different from English, so make sense to refer as like a puzzle. As a Japanese, when I study Korean I feel like a genius but studying English always humbles me

Thank you for the video, I found out that investing is not for everybody, you just need a strong stomach too see your portfolio go down. It might be wiser for a novice to start with copy trading investing, but it is not easy. To invest in growth stocks it is another level, definitely you need to know what are you doing. 0:02

Their English is way better than my Korean. Learning how to read Hangul was incredibly easy when I first took it up but past that, it's hard to relate spoken Korean to any other language (besides the occasional Chinese/Japanese comparison.)
These guys have my respect. English was also my second language, pile on their field of study on top of learning English and you can get a sense of the amount of work these people go through.

From my experience from both being an ESL teacher and a regular elementary teacher here in Korea I feel the biggest difference comes from when they start studying, more than anything.
My students who started in at Korean-5 years of age generally ended up so natural in their speaking that I could put them on the phone with my family back home without them ever thinking that they're speaking to a non-American. My students and coworkers who didn't start studying English until the public school classes started, no matter how hard they work they never really sound natural speaking English. It is so noticeable that often I have worked with Korean English teachers who do not speak English as well as their own students do. Of course, the big X factor here is usually household income. The half-decent English hagwons are quite expensive and the reputable international schools cost more than most universities.

I'm an undergraduate international student at SNU and I can say from my experience that maybe 70% of my classmates can understand English quite well. In our department (PoliSci) we have lots of readings to do every week and most of these readings are written in a very advanced English with lots of technical words and idioms that unless you studied abroad or are very good at english you wouldn't understand otherwise so its quite interesting for me how when it comes to speaking they either say that they're not good at all at speaking English or they will speak English but with very basic vocabulary and lots of grammatical mistakes. In my case, my mother tongue is not English and I've never lived abroad until I came to study in Korea, but for me speaking in English has never been really hazard as it may seem to be for Koreans around my age, which I find weird because Koreans put so much effort into learning English compared to how English is taught in my country so it would be more logical for Koreans to be better at every aspect, not only reading or listening comprehension but it seems to me, that most of my friends back home (in Latin America) who didn't really receive a good or strict education on the English language, are better at speaking as well as reading and writing. I think the Korean education system should implement more speaking chances for Korean students at public schools so they won't feel worried or down when they think about having to speak in English and also Korean English academies should also focus more on promoting speaking at the same level as they focus on reading, listening and writing.

they all killed it, I'm extremely impressed. I also find it fascinating that the person who stayed in the US for just 2 years when she was 3 sounds close to native

I'm currently studying Japanese on my own, recently passed the N5 exam which is the most basic Japanese language exam. Some people assume I can already speak Japanese fluently, but just like these students, I'm really struggling because I don't get much practice talking, which I feel is the most important way to learn a language.

All of them spoke great english! A language, to me, is a tool you use to communicate purpose and intent. As long as I can understand what you mean, you've done a great job in conveying your message. They had definitely undermined their own abilities to speak english. Learning a language beyond your own mother tongue after growing up is very tough, after all.

let me tell you from experience that unless you get put on the spot where you absolutely have to speak the language you want to learn otherwise you aren't gonna make fast progress, if you are a student in seoul, you should have PLENTY of opportunities to speak with foreigners and tourists visiting to practice speaking english, but the reality is that a good chunk won't stray out of their comfort zone.

Honestly I have never absorbed my english while I was studying in school since my teachers tended to explain every single lesson in the most complicated ways, such as grammatical. They also forced us more to focus on grammar instead of another language skills. However when I graduated I was fortunate that I could improve my english by watching series by communicating in person with native speakers which is those ways were the most appropriate ways to be able to absorb vocabulary in my opinion.

they did amazing! im native english speaker in the states with a major in english who, finally after 20 years of half-trying, am studying japanese 6 hours a day. i absolutely connect with the thumbnail image - the more im learning, i realize that's it's almost impossible to "translate" japanese (& i imagine more eastern asian languages like korean) into english - *everything* is "localization." & i love that japanese feels more like learning math than it does learning a language. learning spanish & russian was a lot easier for me & outside of conjugations & other smaller details, it's mostly just about the vocabulary. hardly anything at all is the same in japanese & i just feel it working a different part of my brain that the usual "language center," im used to. again, all of these guests accents, especially, were incredible. delightful glimpse into seeing it work the other way around into english & understanding the struggle 😅

Thank you for your videos.

really amazing english for people who didnt grow up in the anglosphere!!!! bravo to anyone who makes the effort of learning foreign languages

A lot of them speak great English! I just started learning Korean and it is so difficult not having Korean friends to practice with. I learn best through immersion, but I live in Florida. I would love to go to Korea while I'm learning.

Great interviews again... really impressed how well some know English

I'm bilingual and my home language is english. I learnt my second language from school. I often would hear people speaking it and I'd do speeches and presentations in it. The language got stuck in my head and now I can switch from my home language and to my second language. I only started realizing I was quiet fluent in it when I was in 7th grade. I thought it was interesting that I was able to do that so it inspired me to start learning more languages like español and German.

I've just visited S Korea with my Indian fiance and she noticed that the majority Koreans couldn't speak English.
It kind of makes sense how most Koreans are obsessed (or at least used to) with learning English and it can make you more marketable in the job market.

I can totally relate! I’ve been self learning Korean for the past few years and know that my main roadblock is not having anyone to actually speak Korean with so I feel like I haven’t improved much recently. So if anyone in SK wants an English↔️한국어 conversation partner, let me know! 저는 미국인이에요. 같이 연습해요!

I think many of them speak English quite well. They especially use higher level vocabulary (which is often used in English vocab textbooks for EFL learners). I wish people told them their English was fluent enough to hold a conversation and not to worry about tiny grammatical errors.

I thought they did quite well. Learning another language isn't easy at all. I went to Korea a few months ago and I was so surprised that so many younger koreans can speak english well. It wasn't the case when I was there 8 years ago.I really appreciate them making the effort to speak in English.

Can u do it for Chulalongkorn or Mahidol university students (Thailand) ~ the international faculties are relatively easy to get into, but the Thai programs are generally quite difficult for the average Thai (though I don't think it compares to some of the top universities in other Asian countries).
We get all the Northeast Asian countries, but no love for the Southeast Asian countries who are perhaps less proficient at English (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).

I am a graduate of China University and my major is Telecommunications engineering. I can read various English versions of works and papers in my professional field, but when a foreigner asks me for directions on the street, I don't know how to answer them in English.

Wow! They all did so amazingly!

These students did really well! I was a teacher at an English kindergarten in Korea, like some of them mentioned. I think this gives them a great advantage. Young kids learn so easily/quickly. And are not as shy about making mistakes. I teach English in Japanese public school now, and my students are in junior high. These older students are more difficult to teach because they already have the midset of "English is difficult" and they fear making mistakes in front of others. It's honestly shocking to experience this low level of English in public school when my kiddies at the kindergarten spoke so well.

8:32 this guy looks anxious 😮

Its a combination of both studying & using the language to master it really. In singapore we are mostly bilingual because we study English as our main language in school, and we have to take a 2nd language which is our mother tongue. But since our exams are all in English, our mother tongue becomes not that important, with us not needing to take our mother tongue anymore in our tertiary education, and younger parents speaking English mostly. It makes our 2nd language slowly dying out which is quite sad, some of the younger kids in singapore now only speaks English & not their mother tongue.
Talking about using the language, I speak Mandarin at home with my parents, watch Chinese dramas & read novels. It helps to make sure that I refresh my memory of the language, so that I won't forget it just because I use English daily at work.
By the way some of the students interviewed, they spoke really well just lack of confidence.

This was so good…I’ve seen some of the test questions that they get in English for their exit exams and OMG 😣 As a native English speaker I don’t know how they pass them (and I read fast). It seems like mostly strange vocabulary that isn’t helpful in real life and so it’s almost impossible to transition those words or concepts to every day life, I would imagine.
As someone studying Korean it feels like math (which I’m also not good at 😂), but I was impressed with their English skills! If my Korean was as good as any of their English I’d be thrilled 😅

0:00: 📚 The speaker discusses their English proficiency and the difficulty of getting into Seoul National University.
2:17: The speaker is currently studying at Seoul National University.
3:38: Getting into Seoul National University is highly competitive, with a low acceptance rate of around 0.5%.
13:24: 🗒 The speaker discusses their experience learning English as a Korean speaker.
14:16: The speaker started learning English from a young age, with English kindergarten being popular.
16:09: ! The focus of English education in Korea is primarily on test preparation rather than communication skills.
17:10: Students learn how to solve test questions quickly and accurately.
17:43: There is a lack of emphasis on using English as a means of communication or cultural exploration.
Recap by Tammy AI

I'm an international student in the US rn and I used to work as a mentor for incoming international students. I've noticed that my students especially from South Asian countries struggled more because they were scared of their pronunciation. They didn't want to sound weird or have 'broken English' (they didn't trust me. I understood what they said) so I never pushed them to talk and just left the floor open to whoever wanted to speak and as time went by, they built the courage to talk by themselves. It was quite an experience to see my students grow

Their english level is actually amazing if you take into consideration the fact that they really need to extensively study the language. English is not part of their daily lives. I am a Filipino and English is our second language. I was a consistent honor student but I only got the confidence to speak English when I started to work. “Learning the language” and “Communicating using the language” are two completely different things

Haven’t seen AsianBoss in a minute but Kei is looking good!

I’m actually polishing up my Korean (moved to US in 2nd grade) and now will be potentially entering a job position where I’ll be working closely between US and Korea so these videos have helped when relearning certain words/phrases

For me I am actually quite good at english when it comes to writing or understanding but the problem is I don't have anybody around me with whom I can have a proper english conversation.Even if some of them can understand english they are scared of making grammatical mistakes.I think real life conversations are necessary to build up confidence while speaking a new language.

These students are definitely elite, their English ability for an East Asian country is high. I'd like to see how well students in elite Chinese universities do. One of my favorite methods to learning a language outside of basic grammar and vocabulary is reading a lot of scripts with translations. Just vocalizing a lot helps and probably acting classes in the foreign language. Fake it 'til you make it approach.

most of these students did very well in their english skills, they are too hard on themselves,for them not living in the country where the language is spoken, their level of fluency is amazing. congratulations to them

It’s very impressive to hear these young people speaking English so well. Very admirable….most Americans including myself neglected really following through learning another language. It’s hard to learn when you get older.

First, I've been watching Asian Boss videos for the past several years and have used some of them in my classes. There are a wide range of videos out there that try to understand and/or depict what its like for Koreans (usually those in their 20s/30s) to speak/learn English. Most are made by toursists or short term sojourners. They tend to depict Korea as either a place that is really easy to travel around because so many people can speak English well or as a place where hardly nobody speaks English well. Most of these videos are very short on nuance and none of them critique the current methods of the reliance on the short term sojourners to teach English to Korean children. In other words, in the public schools, English is usually taught with a foreign teacher who is fresh out of college with no teaching experience and with little passion for actually teaching. Because of this, teaching as a profession in Korea is not taken seriously by most foreign teachers (although some due take teaching quite seriously). This lack of respect for the profession is unfortunate not only for career teachers who become stigmatized but also Korean chidren. Teaching is a skill that takes practice, repeitition, and self-reflection but this is often lost in the English education system that relies on foreigners who have no experience or passion for teaching. In terms of the top 1% of students (i.e. SNU students), many of these students have passable English and can hold a conversation well. How do I know this? I've been teaching English language education for the past 8 years in Korea and most of that time to the so called 1% (over 1000 Korean students). These students do have a tendancy to undervalue their skills and can be reserved when asked to speak English. However, I would say 60-70% of them can hold a reasonable conversation if they had to. However, this can't be said of the Korean population as a whole. Like in other countries, privilege is determined by economic standing which provides some families greater opportunities for travel, enrollment in hagwons or English academies, and tutoring. Many of the 1% fall within this privileged status and some of the interviewees reflect this privilege. There are many ways to critique English education from pedagogical standards to English as the hegemonic lingua franca to everything inbetween. If Asian Boss ever wanted to have a conversation about this and not just on degrees of language fluency, I would be all for it.

As I can only speak from experience I think as a German I can be quite glad on how and where I grew up. I've been to England a few times and thus could gather experience to talk in English. But I have to say that I gained most of my English skills after school. At least when it came to conversations. There're people from all around the world at my university and also at my bf's. So speaking English as a common language was a must. You have to think and describe a lot when you talk about all the topics you could imagine but you also learn a lot. My grammar probably sucks by now but that's okay I guess. As long as my message comes across xD.

The woman with the plaid shirt who lived in US at age 3 spoke almost perfectly. That was impressive!

I agree with most of the other comments here. They all did super well. They are undervaluing themselves. Sure, maybe some of them aren’t ready to give professional level presentations spontaneously in English…but I’m not either. 😅 Their English skills are all much better than my Korean skills but I’ll keep learning!

This really speaks to the mismatch in the pedagogy between learning for test-taking vs. learning for real world pragmatic utility. If a student can score highly on English exam, it would be reasonable to assume that his/her ability would translate over to the person's ability to engage in verbal conversation, but there's clearly an incongruency. The curriculum needs to be overhauled to emphasize organic speech generation and comprehension rather than memorizing the definitions of fancy jargon which have little to no practical benefit.

Watching this made me realize how I overrated myself in being fluent in English. I've been learning English since my kindergarten around 5 years old. I can write in English very well but when it comes to speaking, I kind of having troubles organizing my thoughts and express myself naturally. Seeing this non-native English speakers who speaks very well and rated themselves that low made me realize I have a lot of things to learn in English language. They are so good. I just hope I have that confidence when speaking in English. If it were me in their position and knowing that I am being filmed, OMG, I would have stressed out and felt pressured especcially they are filming this in a public place. But salute to all of you. You maintain your composure and just so natural throughout the conversation.

Great interview

What do you call a person who speaks many languages? - A polyglot
What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages? - Trilingual
What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages? - Bilingual
What do you call a person who speaks only one language? - American

All the respondents spoke well for a non-native speaker. I'm an ESL graduate and here's my utmost advice, especially to non-native speakers. It matters not if you feel you're not speaking it correctly. The mindset must be emphasized first. Only then your confidence will flow easily. Our generation, unlike our parents' generation, should have the mindset of learning other languages in order to communicate with everyone around the world. It helps in life, when you travel, and also at work. Being multi-lingual does not make you less in your nationality. It should not hinder your true identity. Secondly, in this example of hangul, the alphabets learned were not roman alphabets. That itself provided the challenges phonetically, most of my korean students & friends have difficulty with L. If you can overcome and understand these two, you'll be more confident in your second or third language acquisition. Good luck to those currently adding more languages to your belt, all the very best!

They all are really honestly sweet. I admire them to be best students but dont have the confidence in English. Let's not forget that many of them are speaking 2 other asian languages like we Europeans are learning our favorit european languages in schoool or private. These best educated students give me energy not to give up my Korean studies even it is as difficult as English for them. We share the same struggles. I will study Korean as long as possible, may be I can achieve similar to my English conversation skills (6/10), for many reasons. And if you would know my professional K teacher in Seoul ... you would want to learn Korean promptly.👨‍🎓 🤩

this is so nice ❤

their english is all passable to good and better than many immigrants who've been in the U.S. for decades so I think they're being too hard on themselves. it's a flaw in the educational system that shames students for making a mistake when in reality they're easily understandable

I started to learn English in 4th or 5th grade next to learning German. We also learned Latin (forgot it again, never used it) and French (same thing). I learned Swedish from television and pop music. Unfortunately, I never learned Korean, and when you are 35+ years old your ability to learn a new language declines rapidly. So: learn when you are young.

I am impressed with how the students started so young to learn English. I felt they did well, I watch a lot of Korean content and could not do s well! I don't just watch dramas or movies, I watch the news, Korean TV and music/singing programs. Korean language is very pleasant to hear, my favorite Asian language! Perhaps because I am older it is difficult to learn. I comprehend some Spanish, German and a small amount of Navajo but am far from fluent 🤥. Bravo to these intelligent students!!

I think the younger generation are much more fun and outgoing. They are less inhibited now than their seniors when asked to respond in English. This is such a refreshing take on Korea's youth since the general worldview about them is that like Singaporeans, they're too serious with their academic track record amidst the social pressure. With this interview, however, we get a short glimpse of their humor as well. #respect from 🇵🇭

They spoke English so well, yet rated themselves so low. I think confidence has a lot to do with it. Just be brave and give it your best try. I really admire people who learn other languages.

The Korean education system focuses too much on reading comprehension and grammar. It should be tweaked to include more conversation, which is more valuable in the real world (especially in business).

For people who are not used to conversing in English often, one has a tendency to be flustered and be in panic mode... like when put on the spot to speak in English, one has a tendency to second-guess if what you're going to say is the right English word to what you are trying to say. It's like doing the translation in your head.
It really helps that you practice speaking in English often. I also hope that those who are fluent in English will help those who are still learning. I've seen some people who, instead of helping those people who struggle, they laugh at them or worse, even insult them. Thus, the ones trying to do their best to speak in English will tend to lose their confidence all the more.
Let's be patient and helpful.

Great video. I was surprised at how good their English was. They just need to be more confident. The more you speak it, the better you will get.

I think one of the factors why koreans struggle with actual english is that most of them think english words in "hangul". Generally speaking, english words that's commonly use in everyday korean language (there are quite a lot actually) are also spelled/written in hangul and that really messes up the pronunciations. If u are not familiar with "konglish" u will definitely struggle to understand the words even though it's "english"

*long comment ahead*
I am currently an incoming senior year student majoring in English Language Studies as my pre law in the Philippines. English holds the status of being one of the official languages in our country, and it is widely used as the medium of instruction in schools and government institutions. As a result, we are generally regarded as proficient in spoken English, and if I am not mistaken, our country is ranked 22nd in the world for English proficiency.
Having listened to Koreans speaking in English, which is a foreign language to them, I can confidently say that they can engage in English conversations with relative ease. However, they do exhibit a lack of confidence and exposure in their English-speaking abilities. Pronunciation, particularly with the letters R and L, may also be a slight challenge. Nevertheless, in terms of accuracy, most of the interviewees demonstrated strong grammatical skills. While they may not be completely fluent, their grammar usage was impressive. Personally, I was highly impressed by the English major student. She effortlessly incorporated terminologies that I typically reserve for writing rather than casual conversation.
English language serves as a means of communication and is not a measure of intelligence. It allows individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively. Fluency in English does not necessarily indicate a person's intellectual capabilities or intelligence level. Intelligence encompasses a wide range of skills and abilities that go beyond language proficiency. It is important to recognize that individuals can be intelligent in various domains, regardless of their language skills.
A lesson I learned from my professors and my program is indeed, while English is undoubtedly helpful in many contexts, one's native language holds a special significance and importance. Our native language is deeply intertwined with our cultural identity, heritage, and personal connections. It is the language through which we express our deepest emotions, thoughts, and experiences. It shapes our worldview and allows us to connect with our community in a unique and meaningful way.
While English may be a global lingua franca and facilitate communication across different cultures and borders, our own language remains an essential part of our identity and self-expression. It enables us to preserve our cultural heritage, maintain strong bonds with our community, and fully articulate our thoughts and feelings.
So, while English proficiency has its advantages, we should always value and cherish our native language as an integral part of who we are. And I can see it here, through this interview.

Great random street interviews. The english skills of these koreans is not bad especially for a particular woman who lived in the US for 3 years(?), and came back to korea for good. She speaks very well and I can understand her clearly. The rest is also understandable although I feel like there is hesitation, in speaking English. At least these Koreans are able to express/understand what is being asked of them. Great job.

Their English was amazing!

I think fluency is really about talking quickly and confidently over using the completely correct verb conjugation or whatever. I had a Korean manager whos English wasnt great but we communicated just fine because there are tricks like "I go Disneyland with family yesterday" which convey all the information and ultimately that's what language is for.

As a Filipino who has been taught English at a young age, I'd say it takes a lot of practice and perseverance. You, as a person, needs to strive, not just in school, but in other aspects of your life as well to be really good at learning a second language. Try to incorporate English in your daily conversations with family, schoolmates and friends. It's good to learn a second language that will give you a competitive edge on work. But, do not lose your love with your own culture and language, or you'll end up like lots of children in the Philippines nowadays. They know how to speak English fluently, but not their own native language (which is Tagalog). Their parents have prepared them for work that requires proficiency in the English language, but they struggle to converse with their own countrymen in their own language, which makes me truly sad😓

These students are really underrating themselves! I've been an English teacher in Asia for many years now and I was shocked at their fluency after they had all given themselves such low scores. Really hope all of them will be able to get more English speaking practice for their own confidence :)

I think confidence is what makes them underscore themselves , given enough exposure and time , they definitely have no problem