Shadowing Practice: School Swap: Korea Style | Why Korean Kids Study Until 10PM | Full Documentary - Learn English Speaking with Video
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When it comes to school exam results, Britain is nowhere near the top of the international league table.
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In fact, it's Asian countries that consistently take the top spots.
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The UK lags behind these masters of education and my home nation,
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Wales, is the worst performing country compared to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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I'm Sian Griffiths education editor at the Sunday Times.
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I want to know what would it take for Welsh schools to compete
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and be at the top of those rankings and to do that I need some help.
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I'm inviting three pupils from my old school in Wales to swap their classrooms, teachers
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and even their parents to experience school life on the opposite
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side of the globe in Gangnam in South Korea here pupils work long hours teachers can become millionaires
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and parents plough a small fortune into private tuition for their kids this is extreme education
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so for three days three Welsh teenagers will live
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and breathe Korean education to find out the secret to their success I honestly couldn't keep my eyes open.
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This is school swap, Korean style.
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St David's in Pembrokeshire is the smallest city in Britain.
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This is where I grew up and went to school.
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Here I got the grades to go to Oxford to study English.
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And back then the quality of Wales' education system was renowned.
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But something has changed.
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So I want three students from my old school to help me find out what.
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I'm sending them to one of the best and toughest education systems in the world today, South Korea.
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I'm looking forward to experiencing it, but I honestly don't know how they cope.
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Some days I'll only have two lessons in the morning, or sometimes I have triple lessons at the end of the day so I can have a lion in the morning.
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I do like the social part of school, but I don't really enjoy the educational side of it.
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Some might say that I like my PlayStation a bit more or playing sports with my friends a bit more than studying.
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School, for me, is about, yeah, sure, you come along and you see your friends every day, but it's also about knuckling down and actually getting some work done.
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I want to get the best, I want to be the best, and I think that all starts with education.
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I want to go to Korea because I want to know why they're doing
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so much better in education than we are and what they have that we don't.
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Three very different kids, but how will they take to the super -tough system of South Korea?
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Our three Welsh teenagers are travelling 6 ,000 miles from Pembrokeshire
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to the capital of South Korea Seoul the three days I've
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arranged for them to be totally immersed in Korean school
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and teenage life and they need to look the part too
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so first stop is the local school uniform
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shop most schools in this area are single -sex schools,
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so the three will have to split up.
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Tommy and Ewan will attend Dancook, an all -boys high school in the most affluent neighbourhood in Gangnam.
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The school is surrounded by expensive high -rise flats, with Korean parents spending a fortune to move into the school's catchment.
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Mine's a very posh school and I have a feeling and they're going to be really strict.
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Sarah will attend the nearby all -girls school, Soomoon.
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Over 1 ,500 girls attend this high school, and it's one of the best in Gangnam, with strict rules on uniform and appearance.
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Our three Welsh students will also be staying with a Korean family.
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But before they head off, I want to know if they're ready for the challenge.
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Do you already know any Korean?
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Have you learnt any in the few hours you've been here?
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Well, I picked up a little bit.
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I mean, like, it's like, thank you.
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Um, and Tommy knows the way to, like, introduce yourself.
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Yeah, when you greet someone, you say, I'm useless.
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I've been relying on these two.
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OK, well, good luck, all three of you.
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Off you go.
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Cheers.
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Sarah, Tommy and Ewan now split up and head off to meet their Korean classmates for the first time.
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They know nothing about their host families, and the nerves are definitely starting to show.
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Yeah, a bit nervous, but it should be good to meet them.
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I think nervous doesn't quite cut it. Do I press here?
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It's tight.
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It's all right.
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Here we go.
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Sarah will be staying with 16 -year -old Sion.
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When she was young, Sion went to a school for gifted children, and her favourite subject is maths.
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That's the living room, and the dining table, and that's the kitchen.
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Oh my gosh, I'm actually here.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Tommy is going up in the world.
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Hello.
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Hi.
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Nice to meet you.
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Tommy's Korean classmate is Min Young.
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He has a bird's eye view of Seoul from his 36th floor apartment and there's an 86 -inch television to amuse him.
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Oh, got a home soon now.
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That's really cool.
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That's a lovely view as well.
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Yuan is the last to meet his Korean counterpart, Jung Chan.
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There's no television here.
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Jung Chan's parents believe it's a barrier to good education.
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This is a really nice house.
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You make the most of the space as well.
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It's really good.
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Both are top students in their class, and it's not long before they check out each other's maths homework and musical skills.
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MUSIC CONTINUES First impressions?
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I don't stand a chance.
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He's amazing.
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He can play the piano backwards, for Christ's sake.
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I don't stand a chance.
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I'm finally here, I'm finally here, and it's crazy.
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It's really good.
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Well, they're like an idiot now.
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Tomorrow, our three Welsh students are going to discover why Korean education is the toughest in the world.
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What time does school start tomorrow?
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We need to be there by eight.
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Eight, all right, OK, yeah.
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Eight o 'clock, so quite an early start.
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But it's all right.
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I think it's math, English and history.
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and then we're going to have dinner at school and then we're going to have, like, the extracurricular stuff.
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We stay there until, like, ten.
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Ten o 'clock at night?
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Ten, yes.
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OK.
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I'm normally fast asleep at ten o 'clock, but I think I can change for a couple of days.
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I don't think I'm prepared for this.
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6 .45 in the morning, and in Yung Chan's house, there's no sign of Yuen.
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Hello, Yuen.
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It's already like a quarter before seven.
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It's all right.
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I feel about to sleep.
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That's normal.
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Over at Ziyan's house, it's a different type of wake -up call for Sarah over breakfast.
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So, like, we have this bag in each class for us to put our phones in.
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But we have to put our phones in?
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Yes.
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You're not even just, like, allowed to turn them off and put them in?
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I guess you can, but if a teacher phones up, they'll take it for, like, a week and a half till a month.
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I guess it depends on the teacher.
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They can take your phone off you for that long.
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Yeah.
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Oh, my God.
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I did wake up and I just fell back asleep.
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Ready for school now.
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Apparently I might be out until 11 .30 at night, so it could be quite interesting.
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While Sarah and Yuan make their way to the respective schools, over at Min Young's house, Tommy's only just getting up.
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I don't usually function at this time.
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Guys, you get better weather out here than we do.
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Really?
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Much better.
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This is, like, actually quite a nice day.
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It gets a bit tiring after lunch.
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I think I'll be tired before lunch.
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Because Tommy got up so late, his Korean classmate is worried.
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I'm going to be there on time, I think.
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He's never been late to school before.
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I'll catch up, don't worry.
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In Dancook High School, punishment for missing the bell is coming in even earlier to clean the corridors and classrooms.
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With seconds to spare, both have avoided mopping up duties, for today at least.
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Sarah is creating a bit of a stir over at Sumerun Girls School.
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Being the only blonde in school can make you quite a celebrity.
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I'm not normally awake until about quarter to eight.
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It's too strange, too early.
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It's ten to eight.
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And first up, it's English.
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And a gentle easing in for Tommy, Ewan and Sarah.
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Well, I'm not very familiar with that genre of music.
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I cut myself when I shaved this morning.
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Maybe in a good shape in the shower.
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Sounds like a good idea.
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More than 99 % of Korean students choose to stay in school after they turn 16, compared to only 50 % back home in Wales.
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For the next three years, they prepare for a make -or -break exam to get into a good university.
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While I wait to see if the kids survive their first day, I've been looking around the local area and come across this Buddhist temple.
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This sign is pretty interesting.
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It's inviting people to come and do 3 ,000 boughs or prayers overnight this Saturday for,
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guess what, good exam results.
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These mothers are praying for good results in the end -of -term exams.
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Each prayer book has a picture of their child, and on the roof of the temple,
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the light stays on in the family's lantern until the child reaches university.
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In the temple courtyard, the mothers burn old textbooks to destroy any possible bad luck in the looming exams.
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It is this religious devotion to education that has helped transform South Korea's fortunes.
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60 years ago, nearly 80 % of the population here was illiterate.
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Today, South Korea is an economic giant.
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They did all that through education.
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So, how good are they?
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I've arranged a test for the boys in Dan Cook School.
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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Today, you're going to be sitting a Welsh GCSE maths exam.
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You have 60 minutes and your time starts now.
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It's usually a two hour long paper but we've randomly selected half the questions to fit this exam into 60 minutes.
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In my maths exam, I got a nice start.
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I was told to aim for full marks.
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After only 15 minutes, some of the Korean students have already finished the paper.
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but even on his second attempt GCSE maths is still a headache for Tommy
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for my GCSEs I got two A stars four A's four B's
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and a C I thought I did quite well considering the amount of work I did the only grade
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that I would have liked to get higher was a C in maths I would have liked to get
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that up to a B but you know it is what it is Okay, so can I just ask you all,
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can you put your hands up if you found that paper difficult?
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Okay, so can I ask you now, can you put your hands up if you found the paper really easy?
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Okay.
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Everybody found it really easy.
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Well, that was really interesting.
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None of those South Korean teenagers found that paper difficult.
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Most of them finished it in about 15 minutes.
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It was supposed to take an hour.
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I'm not really surprised because the teacher said that paper was primary school level maths for those children.
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It just shows how far we've got to go to catch up in Wales.
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Thousands of children in Wales, not just in Wales, across the UK, would have failed that paper this summer.
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That says a lot about where we are and how much we're going to do.
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I asked them and they thought the exam was very easy.
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And I said, well, some people in our class have failed that.
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And they said, well, that's astounding.
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So I just think they just work harder, they go over it.
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And then an exam they've never studied for before, they just did it straight through.
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So, yeah, amazing.
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Korean teenagers are exam -busting machines and are among the top -performing students in the world.
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We know this because of the PISA tests.
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Every three years, 15 -year -olds in 68 different countries sit the same exams in maths, science and reading.
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In the latest PISA maths test, Asian countries like South Korea once again come out on top.
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England and Northern Ireland are down with Scotland at 29th, and my home nation, Wales, right down at 36th.
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One obvious difference here is the long hours they put in.
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Sarah is struggling to stay awake.
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Others have just given up.
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But still, the teacher carries on.
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At least there's one similarity between Wales and South Korea.
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They do have school dinners.
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In Seoul, all kids up to 16 years old have free school meals, but you won't find any chips being dished out here.
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Korean school dinners are hailed as some of the healthiest in the world.
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Plenty of rice, soup and gut -friendly fermented cabbage, called kimchi.
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With their bellies full, it's back to the classroom.
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And our Welsh students are actually getting a taste for Korean -style lessons.
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The method of teaching out here is they just give it to you in black
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and white and you memorise it and you learn it, but that does not necessarily mean that you understand it.
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What stuck out to me a lot is in class they don't even talk to each other.
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It's just bizarre.
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The school here is better in terms of the results, but are they really living a life that a young person should be?
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I'm not so sure.
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In response to such criticisms, The principal at the boys school has introduced a school sports day to tackle the problems of stressed out
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and tired students
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This is one of the best schools in in Seoul
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and South Korea is at the top of the international rankings for education
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But do you feel that this kind of sports day is necessary to give them some kind of release from that pressure?
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Yep That's a part of the reason I do this with these kids
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because you know like this time never comes back You know, this is a beautiful time of our life,
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but they're kind of squeezed under a big load of pressure.
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Their day is probably like 6 to 12 or something.
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6 a .m in the morning to midnight.
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Whoa, they're going about six hours sleep.
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Six hours sleep, that's very insufficient.
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So we've been seeing some children sleep, actually nodding off in lessons.
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What do you do when you see children doing that?
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Actually, I tap the window of the classroom and I try to wake them up by sending my finger signal to them.
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Does it work?
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Yeah, it's working.
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Eventually, probably that's going to damage their efficiency of the studies because they need a sleep, they kind of lack sleep.
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So that's the part of the reason we're doing this.
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It's kind of like some activities releasing their stress.
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The final event of the day is rope skipping and Tommy's been given the responsibility for swinging the rope for his team.
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They're quite nervous.
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I don't want to get it wrong.
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Look how many people are watching.
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I'm petrified.
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Look how wrong it can go.
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Next up.
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It's Tommy's team.
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Most of the Korean students don't know anything about Wales.
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That's until they see the flag.
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There's one famous Welsh footballer and everyone knows his name.
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20 minutes past four and the bell rings for the boys.
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Over at the girls' school, the lessons may have ended, but now it's time for after -school study.
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Ten hours in and Sarah's sitting in the same classroom, in the same chair.
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I feel really bad, but I honestly couldn't keep my eyes open during that lesson.
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It's all getting too much for Sarah, so her Korean classmate Sion comes to the rescue.
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We're going to get you to go to the nurse's office.
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There are a lot of beds there.
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So you can take a rest.
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I feel so bad.
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And after that, we can go to my extracurricular class.
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And then we go home.
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I feel bad going into the nurse's room.
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I should just, I should be awake.
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But I'm just so genuinely tired.
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As night falls on Seoul, Yuan and Yongchan make their way to a five -hour self -studying session in the local public library.
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At the moment, we're waiting to get into the library.
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I was amazed that there could be
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so many people all in there at once and the fact that they're all exquisitely silent.
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There was even a kid in there, about ten years old, so it was surprising, but it shows the work ethic that Korean people have and it's just impressive, it's amazing.
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Studying for 14 to 16 hours a day is normal for Jung Chan.
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This is his way of staying at the very top of the class.
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I found that if you review your schoolwork, what you've learned on that day, then it really helps you a lot.
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So the library where I study, near my house, it only opens until 10.
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So So if I want to study more and finish up my work, then I just come back to school and stay here until 12.
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My parents' influence is the biggest part because my dad grew up in the countryside.
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He had a really poor background, and he studied really hard.
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And he made it into Seoul.
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If he can do that, well, maybe I can study more.
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But the second purpose is that it's really kind of happy when you get good results from studying.
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It's really not comparable with any other achievements.
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Yeah, that's what drives me to study.
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When they're not self -studying in libraries, most Korean students go to private night schools called hagwans.
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This area of Gangnam has over 1 ,000 of these hagwans.
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Min Young is taking Tommy to his English hagwan, a two -hour top -up lesson in English grammar.
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I've arranged to meet Tommy at his hagwan, and on my way over in the taxi the driver has
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plenty to say about the role hagwans play in society here this is mathematics hagwan
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and this is English hagwan and this is mathematics hagwan this is a street to hagwans really the
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children come here what time after school five o 'clock about the five o 'clock to 12 o 'clock
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so at midnight this street will be full of children yes yes
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bian hun has sent all of his three children to haggwans
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but when you have three children in the haggwans how much is
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that costing you almost the two thousand per month for the
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honest mathematics how many hours do you have to work to
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pay for the haggwans about 14 hours 14 hours a day 15 hours in a day.
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How many days a week?
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Six days a week.
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You're working 14 hours a day.
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Yes.
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So you never see your children.
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When do you see your children?
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Very hard to see each other.
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Yes.
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It's a high price to pay for hagwans.
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Yes.
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Yes, that's right.
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That's true.
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Korean parents spend more on private education for their kids than any other country in the world.
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It's almost an addiction here.
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The government has even placed a 10 o 'clock curfew on the hagwans to try and control their influence.
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To keep the kids out of private education, the girls' school offers its own version of a hagwan.
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But it's all too much for Sarah.
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We were supposed to stay until 10, but I've actually been really tired so luckily we've been let out a bit earlier
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but yeah it's been a really intense day and definitely not used to staying in school this late.
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At his private hagwon Tommy and his Korean classmate Min Jung now face another test.
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And Tommy what is the difference between present perfect and past? Can I ask you,
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because you've been teaching tonight a grammar lesson to um one of our students from wales tommy
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but in the english grammar test minion did better than tommy
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oh shoot yeah minion is excellent he's a he's a good student and also he's diligent
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i noticed that tommy was writing done everything
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and he wanted to memorize it so tommy is really diligent
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and he has passions so if there's a system that help tommy then tommy can you know get a better score.
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So Hagwan seem to be doing a good job from your points of view
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but a lot of people criticize them and they say that children are here too late and they get very tired.
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What would you say to that?
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You know personally I just run this Hagwan to help students.
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You know everyone wants to go to SNU, Seoul National University and I help students to go to those schools.
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So in a family if someone goes to SNU, Seoul National University it's kind of really big pride in that family
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so I think it's a kind of culture it's ten o 'clock at night the hagwans are closing
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because of the government curfew but many students like young Chan are carrying on
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so we're actually heading back to school yes the self -study
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room is open until 11 30 11 30 then luckily we have our bikes there
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so sure we'll take them back on and that makes things easier god
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and then a long day tomorrow yeah and then one after
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that dan cook boys school is open until half past 11 at night
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so they're carrying on with their studying there this is a relentless education system
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it's 10 o 'clock at night
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and the street's just full of children a lot of them in still in their school uniforms
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and i've been speaking to a few groups of children some
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of them are tired some of them are hungry one said he would love to be playing basketball
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and one girl i spoke to she was 14 she said i just want to sleep i'm
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so tired i just want to go to sleep like other
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countries around the world the welsh government has sent civil servants out to south korea to see
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if changes need to be made to our education system back home
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but is this what it takes to get to the top of the international rankings
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and if it is is it actually worth it
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schools open early in korea after the pupils are finished cleaning their classrooms and the corridors, it's the start of lessons.
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For Ewan and Tommy, this is a far cry from this school back in Pembrokeshire.
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It's half eight in the morning.
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Quite a few people have a nap.
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I think they're up during them in a minute.
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I'm feeling a bit tired.
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It's taking a toll on me.
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I mean, I prefer our type of school.
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They really don't have to spend until the night.
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They don't have to work so much in the morning.
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Across the city, in the all -girls school, Sarah has more energy than she had on day one.
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Yeah, definitely, I'm much more alert today, 100%.
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But then again, we have got history after career next, so I don't know how that's going to go for me.
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Hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll stay awake.
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This all -girls high school is one of the best in Seoul.
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These girls are passionate about their education.
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They work long hours, anything from 8 in the morning to 11 at night to pass their exams
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and what's striking is the risk the teachers have here.
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An old Asian proverb says that the king and the teacher are both equal in status.
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No wonder then that some teachers have made a fortune off the back of that belief.
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I'm on my way to meet the most famous teacher in South Korea.
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And we've arranged to meet in a hair salon.
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Cha Gil Jung, or Mr Cha to his hordes of adoring fans, is preparing for his next lesson.
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Your hairstyle today, it's your normal style or there's a good reason for your hairstyle today?
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In education -obsessed South Korea, Cha is a top -ranked maths teacher, and here it makes him a celebrity.
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He looks every bit the pop star and shares the limelight with some of Korea's biggest idols.
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This is Mr. Cha's latest single, an appeal for students to smile as they study for their
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big college entrance exams you are very rich from this yeah you are millionaire
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he doesn't actually teach in a bricks and mortar school he's made his fortune by running an online cram school,
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or hagwan, part of the country's huge private education business.
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And he has a variety of props, masks, costumes and wigs, which he wears according to his mood.
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Entertainment is a fundamental part of the learning process.
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But this is a very serious business.
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He has three million registrations on his website.
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And at any one time, 300 ,000 students are logged on, each paying 22 pounds per month to watch his maths lessons.
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He is a celebrity superstar.
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He has built up an empire here in just six years.
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He is an English class.
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You have to learn well.
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And if he is N, he is always N from 1.
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You think it's stupid.
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But then you realize that actually even 17 -year -olds are captivated by him.
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He has a massive following and it just goes to show how big maths is in South Korea.
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Over in the girls' school, Sarah is about to have a taste of mathematics Korean style.
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Teenagers here are notoriously good at maths and consistently top the international rankings.
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But Sarah seems to be holding her own.
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You have to add, for the first number, you minus the two together, so five minus three is two.
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So that's where the two comes from, and then five plus three is eight.
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Unfortunately for Sarah, it's first come, first solve in this school.
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What just happened?
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But one of the answers has been left unfinished.
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I think all the girls knew how to do it but they just thought they'd let me do it.
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I kind of felt like they were doing it out of a sympathy vote
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because that was the easiest one on the board and I couldn't do any of the other ones.
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But at the end of the day I got some food out of it so it's fine.
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In between lessons at Dankook Boys School, Tommy and Ewan get a chance to visit the school farm.
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This is random.
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A while ago, they built this biological studies center or whatever to help with biology and stuff.
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And they've just got animals on the school grounds.
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And we've come down here and there's cats and rabbits
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and chickens it's just bizarre you know before this this was
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you know in much bigger scale like there were peacocks and iguanas and like exotic Ganimals,
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I'm allergic, so I don't really want to get too close.
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Halfway through their three days in a Korean school, and the long hours are taking their toll on Ewan and Tommy, as well as a few others.
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These hours are bad.
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I'm usually, like, this tired every day, you know.
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If you keep doing it, you sort of get tired.
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Get used to it.
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When do you go to school, you know, like, when is four times?
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Oh, 9 o 'clock, and then we finish at 3 .30.
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Wow!
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By spending so much time with Tommy, Min Young has a growing curiosity about Welsh education.
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I don't think you can say, you know, which is better people in Wales they get more active
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and they get more like social ties I guess
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and you know we study more so
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if we find like a middle ground where we can study
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and engage in like those kind of fun activities then I think that would be like the best.
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In three years time Min like all other Korean high school
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students will have to sit a university entrance exam called the KSAT.
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The test offered only once a year is seen as the make
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or break exam not only when it comes to college admissions
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but for a teenager's entire future it's like a defining moment
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in your whole education i guess everyone wants to go to seoul national university
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which is like the top you know like at the top
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and yeah i'm aiming for it everyone's aiming for it i think
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Seoul National University is just like Oxford or Cambridge back home, and it's just as difficult to get in.
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These students are the next generation of Korean maths teachers.
430
This year, 3 ,000 students applied to go on this teacher's training course.
431
Only 36 got places.
432
I think maybe two percent or maybe five percent high school grades can only admit it to my department.
433
So if you want to be a maths teacher this
434
and be trained in this university you're one of the top two to five percent of graduates in South Korea.
435
Why is it that your best graduates in South Korea want to become teachers?
436
What is the number one reason do you think?
437
Number one job, stability.
438
Number two, two months, holiday.
439
And number three, maybe, it's still we respect teachers.
440
Becoming a teacher is a dream job for many high school pupils.
441
Do -yan Kim is one of them.
442
Under enormous pressure, he studied 16 hours a day for three years solid to
443
get into this university it was really difficult you know especially
444
in Korea we have a lot of students who wants to go to college
445
so the competition is really tough you know we have only one exam for a college entrance once a year and
446
that is the major source of stress for luck for lots
447
of high school students in Korea after only a few minutes talking to do young Kim I could see
448
that it was almost painful for him to talk about his time in high school and then I found out why
449
I lost about two or three friends to suicide yeah all the way up here
450
because they were studying too hard one was extremely stressed by the studying part and the other also committed There's suicide, yeah.
451
Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that.
452
How old are they?
453
Well, they're about, you know, 15 or 16.
454
South Korea has the highest suicide rates in the industrialized world.
455
It is astonishingly the number one cause of death for those aged between 10 and 30 years old.
456
Some say it's time to make changes to the system,
457
including the former Minister of Education who is in charge of South Korea's success in the last PISA international rankings.
458
Those high test scores in PISA mask very important problems in Korean education.
459
For example, Korean students don't have enough time to read, to do sports, to do music,
460
and to spend that time freely because they are too much pressured to prepare for the exam.
461
Even in PISA test, when they ask Korean students whether they are happy in school, Korean students raise the lowest.
462
So it's really worrisome.
463
It's time for...
464
Korean parents to make changes.
465
To prepare our next generation for the 24th centuries, our children may need different sets of skills other than just high test scores,
466
communication, collaboration, and creativity.
467
They should be nurtured.
468
The government are introducing changes to the system.
469
All middle schools now have to allow one school term free of any written exams.
470
Though there's still another five terms of exams left.
471
The aim is to get pupils into sports and other creative activities.
472
In the girls' school, Sarah is swapping her classroom for a kitchen.
473
She's learning how to make Korean pancakes.
474
Taste, ten.
475
Presentation, it's probably about a four.
476
And joining them in the class kitchen are a group of parents.
477
In South Korea, parents are free to observe the teacher to judge the quality of teaching.
478
And they give them the score.
479
For most teachers, it's an uncomfortable experience.
480
Personally, it's awful, but sometimes it's really helpful for me to keep awake as a teacher
481
because I need to train myself
482
and sometimes I need to learn more things about education and that really helps me to encourage my students too.
483
After this lesson, I've kind of got to know everyone.
484
I still don't know all their names, but I think they've definitely tried to make me feel welcome
485
and I feel much more relaxed now than I did at the beginning when everyone was just staring at me.
486
I think they kind of actually see me as a person now.
487
This lesson, it was as if it could have been a lesson back at home
488
and we got to kind of like take over ourselves and so that was really good.
489
So I think that brought my mood up a little bit.
490
Teachers are under pressure.
491
They're not only marked by the parents, but by their fellow teachers and even by the pupils.
492
Korean parents consider it their duty to give their children every opportunity to be their best
493
and they are prepared to make significant sacrifices.
494
Long into the night, parents are seen ferrying their kids between schools and top -up classes in the hagwans.
495
Parents dedicate both time and money into developing the next generation.
496
It is a responsibility that is taken most seriously.
497
Tonight, Yun -chan is taking Yuan to a three -hour maths hagwan for some probability equations.
498
Oh, my God.
499
You should, like, open a restaurant.
500
Yun -chan's parents pay for this extra tuition to make sure that he passes his exams.
501
But their sacrifices don't stop with paying for classes.
502
They even took a decision to move house, leaving a bigger property to live in this small apartment because it is nearer to a good school and good hagwans.
503
The location -wise, this house is very perfect for my children's education.
504
That's the reason why many parents want to live in this area, even though the high cost of living.
505
The family only see each other at weekends.
506
Dad works away all week in a nuclear power plant to pay for the top -up tuition for his son.
507
At least five hours by bus.
508
That's a big sacrifice.
509
And this is so Yul -Shenko's education?
510
Here, parents have high expectations of their kids,
511
and they're willing to sacrifice so much to ensure their success. Do I look tired?
512
I wonder why.
513
While Yuan finishes his hagwan, Sarah is having private maths tuition in Sion's apartment.
514
They're just working so hard.
515
I think in the long run, it probably isn't that beneficial because of mental health and everything like that.
516
Sarah's school in Pembrokeshire is more than a place to study.
517
In her GCSE exam year, the school helped her through a very tough and emotional year.
518
Yeah it's been quite a difficult year this year
519
because my mum was diagnosed with cancer again so on top of my GCSEs there was quite a lot of stress.
520
The school they helped me so much
521
because mum was going through chemotherapy as I was doing my GCSEs
522
so having that kind of support network at school was incredible.
523
So I hope to go on to do medicine at university in either Cardiff or Bristol,
524
which is kind of being fuelled by mum being poorly.
525
I will do whatever it takes to get into university and to go on and obviously become a doctor then.
526
So what if you had to decide between a Welsh and a Korean school for your child?
527
Which one would you choose?
528
Welshman Aled Powell met his Korean wife, Hionno, whilst teaching in a Korean hagwon.
529
They've now left Korea and live in North Wales.
530
A tough decision, but one they made to keep their daughter, Awen, out of the Korean system.
531
When I worked in hagwon, I hated it because I could feel the students are suffering.
532
They don't like it.
533
I wouldn't want to send Awen to those hagwons.
534
No?
535
Oh, I think Arwen's saying she doesn't want to go either.
536
So you wouldn't really want Arwen going into a secondary school in Korea then, a high school?
537
No, I think the pressures are a little too high.
538
They've got a wide range of choice of subjects in Wales as well, so whatever her interests are, I think the Welsh system is quite good at catering for that.
539
It seems these parents have set a course for their daughter in the Welsh school system.
540
Or have they?
541
I think mum still needs to be convinced.
542
I think it's just ideal living there.
543
But when she's like in secondary school, I'm not very sure about it because I don't feel they're encouraged to study hard.
544
It's good they have choices for their lives, but especially academically I don't feel they're encouraged.
545
But here it's more than encouragement, here it's pushing.
546
And it has effects not just on the children but on the whole family unit.
547
There's a few years yet until Awen starts school, so plenty of time to decide which country offers the best education.
548
But our time in Korea is fast running out.
549
After spending three days in a Korean school, the Welsh students prepare for their last day.
550
And for Tommy, he gets a taste of the cleaning duties dished out as punishment for Korean kids.
551
Yeah, I know.
552
I was a bit disappointed.
553
I thought it would be a grand finale, but, no, I'll do cleaning.
554
On their final day, I've arranged a surprise for the Welsh students.
555
The head teacher, David Haynes, has flown out from Uskilderi St in Pembrokeshire to see them.
556
The students have no idea he is here.
557
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. How are you, boys?
558
This is my headteacher.
559
Good morning.
560
Nice to see you, sir.
561
This is Tommy.
562
Good to see you, sir.
563
Hello, Sian.
564
Hello, Sian.
565
Hello, April.
566
And this is Mr Haynes.
567
Nice to meet you.
568
How are you, all right?
569
Hiya.
570
How are you?
571
How's Sarah's Korean coming along?
572
Is it good?
573
Have you learned any words?
574
No. I would be useless on my own.
575
It's very different in some ways, similar in other ways?
576
Longer days.
577
Longer days.
578
Much longer days, yeah.
579
Because you may only have three lessons one day.
580
Yeah.
581
They've got it easy, haven't they?
582
These guys, yeah?
583
Yeah.
584
How are you?
585
How are you doing?
586
Good to see you.
587
Good to see you.
588
Thank you for having the boys.
589
Welcome to my school.
590
Yeah, awesome.
591
It's great.
592
And how many children would you have entry in a year?
593
How many children in one year group? About 500.
594
500 in one year?
595
That's as big as my school.
596
Really?
597
Yeah.
598
The whole size of me is a whole school.
599
OK.
600
And that's 11 to 19.
601
Uh -huh.
602
Yeah.
603
So we have about 80 children a year.
604
High end of your school.
605
You know, it's like, you know, sometimes there's a place that reminds me like a boot camp.
606
There's too many kids here.
607
Too many kids.
608
After spending the day at both schools, I want to find out from the Welsh headmaster what lessons he thinks can be learned from our Korean counterparts.
609
I think the work ethic is first class, children are dedicated, they work long hours
610
and this school stays open until 12 at night for students to stay behind after school which is remarkable really, something we don't see back in Wales.
611
Would you like to see schools staying open later in Wales, maybe till 7 or 8 o 'clock?
612
So there's certainly something to think about.
613
I'm not saying we should be open till 12 o 'clock by any stretch of the imagination
614
but certainly something
615
that we need to look at I think our children do work hard within the current framework
616
but they don't work as hard as the kids at South
617
Korea they don't work as long I don't think in terms of the amount of hours they spend in school
618
and they don't get quite the same level of grades in
619
their exam results they don't achieve the same levels within the PISA test no however
620
so there are lessons to be learned I said yes yes I agree But speaking to the principal here,
621
you know, he's very interested in what we do with regards to deeper thinking and being creative.
622
I think there are lessons to be learned from Korea visiting us, but there are certainly lessons to be learned by visiting South Korea as well.
623
From David Haynes' experience, there's a shortage of top maths teachers in Wales.
624
So he'd like to bring over maths teachers from South Korea to solve the problem.
625
In the health service, you bring across doctors from other parts of the world
626
and they contribute greatly to our society and the provision that we receive.
627
I don't see it being a problem at all that specialists and highly trained professionals coming from other parts of the world, like South Korea, could contribute greatly, I think, to our education system.
628
In three days, our Welsh students have clocked up more than 100 hours of study, double the time compared to back home
629
but now it's all come to an end it's time to
630
say goodbye to their korean classmates i feel like i've actually like made some good relations here
631
and it just feels like
632
they are actually my class and i've got used to being in
633
that class and it's been fun and i've been part of the learning experience
634
and it's been really good so i'm kind of sad in a way
635
that it's my last day obviously I've enjoyed the whole experience and having
636
that opportunity to witness this school I'm definitely definitely gonna be
637
happy to get out of this uniform obviously thank you for like making everything
638
so comfortable for me and really welcoming me
639
when we first came here we felt like really alien
640
because we didn't know anyone and everybody was giving us weird looks sort of
641
and it just since since we've been here it's only been three days
642
and i like feel like part of the class
643
and it's really cool it's been really good few days um
644
it's been very funny as well you've all got really good personalities
645
so yeah thank you very much and i hope you do well in your exams.
646
It only feels like yesterday I arrived and I was going to go to school, but it's all coming to an end, so, yeah, it's been a really good experience, though.
647
Certainly I'll remember it for a long time.
648
Before they leave their Korean host families, I'm catching up with Tommy, Ewan and Sarah for their final impressions.
649
I feel like it would benefit the younger years, where education is still compulsory,
650
to bring in some of the same rules, if you'd say, as the South Koreans do,
651
just to kind of improve the work ethic.
652
I think if there were stronger, like, after -school classes to help people with problems they might be having in school, like, if there was a sort of Hagwan -based thing, that would be really good.
653
Just not finishing as late.
654
So, more after -school clubs in St David's and some more rules, yeah?
655
Oh, no, cos we sound so loud now.
656
I'm not...
657
We're a bit too soft on the kids at home.
658
Yeah.
659
Here, they don't mess around.
660
They give you a punishment.
661
You get cleaning duty or you stay after school.
662
You think that's good?
663
That's consistent?
664
Well, it works.
665
You understand?
666
People are going to hate us the same thing.
667
It's consistent, yeah, but, I mean...
668
It's true, though.
669
Is it what you want?
670
So, if they were competing against Korean students for a university place, who would win?
671
How does a Welsh A -level compare to the Korean KSAT?
672
At the end of the day, they're studying so hard for that KSAT that they don't actually get extracurricular options.
673
So even if they smash those exams, if we smash ours as well, we win.
674
Yeah.
675
Just simply by circumstance.
676
Before they head off back to school in Wales, there's a few more goodbyes to say.
677
All right, farewell.
678
Pleasure.
679
Oh, my God.
680
It was a pleasure to have you here.
681
You guys are going to have to come and stay with me.
682
Yeah, I'll be sure to visit your boys.
683
Thank you.
684
Cheers.
685
Come here.
686
Give you hugs, hugs.
687
Thank you.
688
Thanks very much.
689
I was very happy to help.
690
Thank you for feeding me so much.
691
The food's been incredible.
692
I'm coming back.
693
You're my son, Maria.
694
I'm very happy.
695
I have a nice friend too.
696
It's been good to meet you, man.
697
Bye.
698
Thank you.
699
See you soon.
700
Bye.
701
Thank you.
702
Bye.
703
See you guys.
704
See you later.
705
Thank you.
706
Bye.
707
Salud.
708
What we've learned is South Korea's schools are changing.
709
They're cutting back on the testing.
710
They're taking the best of our system, more sports, more creative activities, and they're applying them here.
711
But what we're not doing is we're not taking what they already have here, which is a foundation of knowledge,
712
which is a work ethic which is ambition and aspiration for every child
713
and my real fear is
714
that these countries are going to be accelerating away from us
715
at an even faster rate than they already are it's time to head home
716
and there is one thing i am keen to do education is a devolved area
717
that means the system in wales is run by the welsh
718
government in the senedd in cardiff bay in the days before the latest education rankings are announced.
719
I meet with Education Minister Kirsty Williams.
720
I want to see what she thinks about our Korean experience
721
and find out how she plans to improve Wales' standing in the international rankings.
722
Did you think Wales did okay last time around?
723
No, absolutely not.
724
I was very clear outside of government and I'm very clear now
725
that I'm in the government that Wales' previous performance in Pisa has not been good enough
726
and it's not what I want to see.
727
We need to make improvements.
728
And do you want Wales to be in the top 10, the top 20 in Pisa?
729
I want Wales to improve its scores.
730
Now, I'm not going to sit here like other politicians in the past have made wild predictions about where we will sit.
731
What's important is the individual scores that our children can achieve and we need to make progress.
732
I want Welsh parents to be engaged, to go into parents' evening, to take up the opportunities that the school will afford to talk about what they can do to support their children's education,
733
Take up a place on a school governing body.
734
Let me know about how they perceive Welsh policy is developing.
735
I'm clear that we are making the changes that will make a difference to PISA results in the future.
736
We're not where we should be, we're not where I want to be, but we are moving forward.
737
Since filming, us called Ewy Sant has introduced Korean -style changes to its school.
738
They're going to ban mobile phones for GCSE pupils
739
and will make the school day longer with timetabled study sessions in the evenings.
740
Though they still believe that there's more to life than very long hours looking at a blackboard.
741
And coming from Pembrokeshire, I wouldn't entirely disagree with that.
742
Of course, it's about getting the balance right.
743
But I'm convinced that looking at career, there is still a lot for us right across the UK to learn.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “School Swap: Korea Style”. This video has 743 sentences and 7987 words to shadow. The speech runs for 58:19. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| examination noun | /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ | The act of examining. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| exam verb | /ɪɡˈzæm/ | Shortened form of examine |
| ranking noun | /ˈɹæŋ.kɪŋ/ | The placing of something in a list, for comparison with others. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| pupil noun | /ˈpjuːpəl/ | A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher. |
| awake verb | /əˈweɪk/ | To become conscious after having slept. |
| teenager noun | /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ | A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive). |
| arrange verb | /əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒ/ | To set up; to organize; to put into an orderly sequence or arrangement. |
| fortune noun | /ˈfɔːtjuːn/ | Destiny, especially favorable. |
| sacrifice noun | /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ | Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity. |
| tuition noun | /tjuːˈɪʃən/ | The training or instruction provided by a teacher or tutor. |
| ethic noun | /ˈɛθ.ɪk/ | A set of principles of right and wrong behaviour guiding, or representative of, a specific culture, society, group, or individual. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| hands up | /hæn(d)ˈzʌp/ | Put your hands up (if you wish to participate). |
| head off verb | To begin moving away. | |
| split up verb | Cease to be together, break apart from the group. | |
| take up verb | To pick up. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Have you learnt any in the few hours you've been here?
- When do you see your children?
- What would you say to that?
- What is the number one reason do you think?
- Which one would you choose?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been relying · I've been looking · we've been seeing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has changed · Have you learnt · He's never been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was renowned · is surrounded · was told |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | students who wants · school which is · here, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 165 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, ethic /ˈɛθ.ɪk/, breathe /bɹiːð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, tuition /tjuːˈɪʃən/, punishment /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/, dish /dɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, celebrity /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like mathematics, lesson, examination.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.