Our survey results indicate that children in South Korea begin reading English books at an average age of 4.8 years, a decline of 1.5 years over the past decade.
On September 29, Yoon's English, an English education company, reported findings from a survey conducted from September 14 to 21 involving 696 parents of children below high school age. The average age at which children first encounter English books, often through parental reading, was found to be 58 months.
The trend shows that children are starting to read English books at younger ages: 6.3 years in 2016, 5.4 years in 2019, and 5.2 years in 2022, marking a 1.5-year decrease over the last ten years.
According to the survey, 72.8% of parents reported that their children are currently reading English books, with an average of 2.9 books read per month.
The primary reason parents cited for their children reading English books was to improve their English skills (69.8%). Other reasons included needing to complete homework from school or private academies (46.5%) and fostering independent reading habits (29.2%).
Among the 27.2% of parents whose children do not read English books, the most common reasons were that their children do not enjoy reading English books (49.7%) and that they are using other methods for English education (47.1%).
When asked how their children typically engage with English content, 42.4% of respondents indicated that their children read books and watch videos or listen to audio at similar rates. Meanwhile, 29.6% reported that their children engage more with written content, while 28.0% indicated a higher preference for video and audio content.
Additionally, Yoon's English is enhancing its native speaker video English service, Tuit, by incorporating AI tutor features, among other educational initiatives.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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