Korean families try to invest in children to learn English from kindergarten, forming a “race from the time of diapers” to increase the competitiveness later.
A recent report shows that nearly half of the children in Korea are registered by parents to early educational programs, especially enrolled in kindergarten teaching in English, so that they can be admitted to prestigious private schools, called Hagwon (Academy).
The competition was so fierce that Koreans often joked that in order to gain a place in the prestigious Hagwon, the babies who were still in diapers had to participate in the competency assessment race.
Many parents have strongly invested for their children to study in English kindergarten in the hope that their children will have a lifelong advantage compared to their peers. But Lim Wong, Professor of Yonsei University in Seoul, skeptical about the true effectiveness of those expensive early education programs.
Students take the university exam in Seoul on November 17, 2022. Image: AFP
According to the experience of teaching thousands of students in Korea and the US, he realized that those who started learning English early were not necessarily the best English learners, including those who had studied for many years.. On the contrary, students began to be interested in English in teenagers and attentively studying at school time, including watching movies and reading entertainment books, making significant progress.
Professor Lim Wong said that the motivation of self -motivation is probably more important than early education in learning English, especially when parents urge their children to study too early.
When it is required to fluent English like settling abroad, children may initially have difficulty but will develop language naturally, because English now becomes a part of daily life. On the contrary, parents forced their children to learn English without clear purposes that can cause children to consider English as an obstacle instead of tools or privileges, eventually leading to stress and reducing learning interest.
Therefore, Mr. Lim said that the private education industry in Korea has caused children to face the expectation far beyond their age. Children who know how to walk in Korea had to see the textbooks for older students in the US, while elementary school students plugged in mathematics to improve, giving them less time to study and play effectively.
Some studies show that early education benefits children, but within a certain period. A 7 -year -old child may be proficient in multiplication in one or two months, while preschoolers can take a year or longer to do so, because the brain has not fully developed.
Parents often think that giving their children early to school is always beneficial, but for children to learn too much knowledge from too early rarely bring long -term benefits if that knowledge is not suitable for the age.
Research by psychologist Margaret Burchinal and colleagues at the University of Virginia, USA with 4,667 children aged 3-5 shows that children who are early education in Tennessee initially have outstanding achievements compared to their peers in terms of writing and mathematics until 9 years old. However, at the age of 11, the achievements of many children began to decline with behavioral issues. This is an alarming sign of potential risks from early education pressure.
According to Professor Lim, many Korean parents put their expectations on their children with the faith of early education strictly to ensure success. However, when doing so, they transferred tensions to their children, whether accidentally or intentionally.
Some people expect their children to express their gratitude and absolute obedience, even if they have grown up, as a profitable investment in the cost that they have spent for their children to go to school early. These behaviors overshadow the definition of the purpose and personal development of children.
Professor of Education Kim Eun-Joo at Yonsei University reminds that parents respect the freedom of children’s choice, as well as the right to explore themselves independently, create greater strength and more love, compared to the control.
A Korean mother played with her son in Dochang Primary School, Gyeonggi Province, in May 2023. Image: Times
Professor Lim found that when the Millennium and Gen Z generation entered the role of parent, they were changing their attitude towards their children’s education and early education. He gave an example of JD, a young colleague who wanted his children to attend good kindergarten, but decided to give up when he found the cost of the English learning program too high. JD decided to spend this money for the future of girls.
Mr. Lim said that the best educational platform for children is not in the expensive private schools in the upper districts in Seoul, but in the joy of exploring life through laughter at the dining table, telling stories before going to bed or playing carefree at the schoolyard, where they really integrate into the world, which does not have SAT or any mathematical formula can replace.