South Korean Adults’ Perceptions on Causes of Difficulties with Spoken English: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions of South Korean adults on the causes of their difficulties in speaking English as a foreign language. The participants of this study were 87 adult students from two institutions of higher learning in the Philippines. The results showed that Korean adults studying English perceived that “grammar differences between English and Korean” and “being self-conscious” were the most significant hindrances to their learning communicative English. Data showed that those who were highly self-conscious were less fluent in English. Significant positive correlations were also found between the frequency of studying spoken English and English fluency, and self-assessed English fluency and fluency as recognized by others.