In 1995, Kim Dae-kyun began teaching English reading classes in Shillim-dong in southern Seoul to earn money for studying abroad.

His decision to temporarily dabble in English education however, changed his life, and he is now regarded as one of the top TOEIC instructors in Korea.

“Since the introduction in 2006 of New TOEIC, questions have become more difficult, so students should arm themselves with real competence to get a high score,” Kim said.

Korea is the biggest TOEIC market in the world. Thousands of private English education institutes offer a variety of TOEIC courses, and publishers are churning out all sorts of reference titles each year.

The popularity of TOEIC, or the Test of English for International Communication, is a result of most Korean companies putting a high emphasis on TOEIC scores when hiring employees.

Kim, who earned a master’s degree at Korea University, said there is no alternative yet for TOEIC when it comes to the standardized English proficiency test for general purposes.

Although the Korean government is currently preparing to launch a new national English test system, existing tests such as TOEIC are expected to maintain a significant share in the local market.

Kim said college students, who have to deal with TOEIC to get a job, should think constructively about the test.

“Instead of focusing on scores, students should make efforts to find ways to use the expressions they learn from TOEIC,” Kim said.

TOEIC is largely composed of two sections: listening and reading. When preparing for the exam, Kim said students should bear in mind that what they encounter in listening can be used for speaking in real situations, and the same can be said about the reading section in relation to writing.

“Those who have not secured a solid foundation cannot get a satisfactory result even when they go abroad to learn English,” Kim said. “Even when students go abroad for language courses, they should work hard to strengthen their competence in Korea.”

Kim, who is teaching at the YBM e4u Language Institute in Jongno, downtown Seoul, said that test takers should start with one TOEIC reference book and a vocabulary practice title tailored for TOEIC.

“I recommend going through the basic reference book several times and taking the actual exam whenever possible,” Kim said, adding that those in the beginner’s level have to get a feel for the test before advancing to a higher level.

Students whose scores are in the intermediate level are advised to form a study group.

“These days, a lot of students organize study groups to share information and encourage each other to study harder. And a growing number of private English institutes are helping students get study partners,” Kim said.

Dictation is also effective for improving listening skills for TOEIC and other purposes, Kim said. Since dictating a long passage is time-consuming, he recommended students dictate short sample sentences in TOEIC Part I and II for about 10 minutes a day.

Kim also encouraged students at an advanced level, or those who get more than 900 out of 990, to use an English-English dictionary.

“There are questions asking for subtle nuances of usage, which can be very confusing. Many students are baffled about the difference between ‘for’ and ‘during’ or between ‘assure’ and ‘ensure.’

“To learn how these words are used in a real context, students should refer to English-English dictionaries,” Kim said.

In addition to English-English dictionaries, Kim said Korean students should strike a balance by reviewing reference titles related to grammar and usage, such as “Grammar in Use” and “Practical English Usage.”

Kim, who is hosting a daily TOEIC program on EBS radio and teaching nine hours a day, still squeezes the TOEC test into his schedule each month to offer up-to-date information about the test.

“Memorizing questions from the past TOEIC tests is now ineffective because the test organizers changed their format in favor of totally new questions. Therefore, it’s important for students to analyze why they have missed particular questions, while trying to improve their overall English competence,” Kim said.

By Yang Sung-jin

(insight@heraldm.com)

2009.04.30

Yoo Su-youn, who teaches TOEIC classes at YBM e4u Language Institute in Jongno, downtown Seoul, is a star lecturer. Her classes are fully booked each month, her personal essay collection is a bestseller at local bookstores, and her annual income reaches about 2 billion won ($15 million).

The continued popularity of TOEIC, or the Test of English for International Communication, is driving her success, but Yoo said many people do not understand what the test means.

“Some students believe the difficulty level of TOEIC questions tends to fluctuate, but that’s totally misguided,” Yoo said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “While TOEFL is designed for helping students handle academic tasks in English, TOEIC targets business English users, which means there cannot be a change in the difficulty level.”

Whenever TOEIC tests are conducted nationwide, a number of online study communities bustle with users expressing their surprise or relief about the difficulty level. This may reflect the anxiety many have over the standardized English proficiency test Korean companies take into account for recruiting new employees.

“Korean students tend to focus on the surface or superficial features of the test, while ignoring the ultimate goal or background of TOEIC,” Yoo said.

The majority of TOEIC questions involve business letters, contracts or conversation about handling business-related tasks. The test, in other words, is a measure of business English, a subject routinely neglected in college English curriculum.

“Companies are complaining about a situation where even an English major is unable to write up a normal business contract in English, but this is unavoidable considering what local colleges teach our students,” Yoo said.

After all, it is not students but policymakers, particularly those involved in national education, who should take the blame for the distortion in English education, Yoo said. Colleges still concentrate on academic English, but the local business community demands more practical English skills.

Worse, the government has failed to connect what students are taught in English classes with what companies really want from college graduates.

The gap between academic English and business English has resulted in enormous stress which is placed solely on students who have no other choice but to take TOEIC and secure higher scores, Yoo said.

Yoo added that Korean companies are fully aware that higher TOEIC is not a perfect tool for measuring English proficiency required for a workplace, but they continue to rely on TOEIC because there is no alternative yet.

“Companies are using TOEIC scores not to look for top-rated English speakers but to find candidates who can do business tasks in English, if necessary,” Yoo said.

One criticism about the dominance of TOEIC in Korea is that students shouldn’t be measured by a standardized English proficiency test. Yoo said such a view is also misguided. “If you do not want to be measured by a standardized test, what else do you want to use to get a job? An internship? Getting an award at a business presentation contest? These requirements are more demanding than TOEIC,” Yoo said.

As the government gets ready to launch a national English proficiency test in the near future, some critics speculate TOEIC might be driven out of the market. Yoo said such a prediction was first put forth about 10 years ago, but nothing changed. “TOEIC will not lose its influence at least for the next three to five years,” she said.

Yoo said she is encouraging students to learn key vocabulary thoroughly to get a higher TOEIC score and at the same time prepare themselves for a real business English situation.

“When it comes to the word ‘order,’ there are a set of expressions frequently used in business English situations, such as place an order, receive an order, confirm an order or process an order,” Yoo said.

Yoo analyzed the past seven years of TOEIC questions and found that 800 key words appear most frequently. This means students should learn these key words thoroughly instead of simply checking their definitions in a dictionary, she said.

Another tip for test takers is that knowledge about usage matters in TOEIC. “Most students think they know the words like ‘reveal’ and ‘emerge’ but when it comes to specific usage, many do not know how to use such simple yet useful words properly,” Yoo said.

Taking simulated TOEIC as a practice is recommended but an analytical approach is needed, Yoo said. “Once students complete one set of TOEIC questions, they should sleep on the questions they have missed. Why did I fail to get the right answer? What is the purpose of this question? Asking these questions can be really helpful in reducing errors and set a direction for self study,” she said.

By Yang Sung-jin

(insight@heraldm.com)

2009.05.07