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| / Yonhap |
By Lee Ji-hye
Korean students who are job hunting spend an average some $300 a month preparing for language proficiency tests, according to a survey conducted by Job Korea, an online community portal for recruiting information.
In the survey, some 340 students were asked if they were preparing for an official language test such as TOEIC, TOEFL or TEPS - and 305 people answered, "yes."
On average the survey found that students spent 320,000 won ($304.89) a month one language tests. Of this, 102,000 won per month was used for testing fees.
An average amount of 227,000 won was used to buy books and enroll in language private language institutions, or "hagwons."
Students often take a test multiple times in order to achieve a satisfactory score.
When asked the reason for studying for a language test, 69.5 percent answered "to get a job", 11.8 answered "self-development", 9.8 percent answered "for language exchange program", and 8.9 percent said, "for graduation requirements".
Job Korea said that 91.9 percent of all participants stated that they felt a financial burden because of official language tests.
취업준비생 10명 중 9명은 토익 등 공인 어학시험을 준비하고 있으며, 이를 위해 한 달 평균 33만원을 쓴다는 조사결과가 나왔다.
취업포털 잡코리아는 취업준비생 340명을 대상으로 설문조사한 결과 89.7%(305명)가 공인어학 시험을 준비하는 것으로 집계됐다고 28일 밝혔다.
어학시험을 보는 이유는 '취업을 위해서'라는 답변이 69.5%로 가장 많았고 '자기계발'(11.8%), '어학연수'(9.8%), '졸업을 위해서'(8.9%) 순으로 그 뒤를 따랐다.
시험 준비에 쓰는 비용은 한 달 평균 32만9천원으로 조사됐다. 이 가운데 어학시험을 치르기 위한 응시료가 10만2천원을 차지했다.
나머지 22만7천원은 학원 등록비나 문제집 구입비용 등 어학시험을 준비하는 데 드는 비용이었다.
잡코리아는 '대학생 한 달 평균 생활비가 40만4천600원(알바몬 조사 기준)이라는 점을 고려하면 응시료가 절대 적은 금액이라고 볼 수 없다'고 지적했다.
실제로 설문에 참여한 10명 가운데 9명(91.9%)은 공인어학시험 때문에 경제적인 부담을 느낀다고 답했다.
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