South Korea's TOEIC Speaking Score Ranks 11th in the World and 4th in Asia

The Korea TOEIC Committee has announced that South Korea ranked 11th among 19 countries in the analysis of global TOEIC Speaking scores conducted last year.

The average score of Korean test takers was 128 points, marking an increase of 1 point compared to the previous year. The Philippines recorded the highest average score at 155 points, followed by Costa Rica (146 points), Taiwan (145 points), Spain (140 points), and Indonesia (138 points).

In Asia, the Philippines took the lead, with Taiwan and Indonesia securing the 2nd and 3rd spots, respectively.

South Korea ranked 4th in Asia, with Vietnam (123 points), China (120 points), Japan (117 points), and Hong Kong (104 points) following. This indicates that South Korea's English communication skills are among the top in Asia.

A survey on the difficulties faced by test takers when communicating in English revealed that over half reported feeling difficulties either "sometimes" (46.7%) or "often" (21.1%). Responses indicating "rarely" (13.7%), "almost always" (9.5%), and "not at all" (9.0%) were also noted.

This suggests that many individuals encounter a certain level of difficulty when using English.

The primary purpose of the TOEIC Speaking test was identified as employment (54.4%), followed by promotion (16.8%), meeting graduation requirements (13.3%), academic-related needs (10.7%), and measuring language training outcomes (4.7%). This demonstrates that English proficiency plays an important role in both the workplace and academic settings.

Meanwhile, South Korea's average score in TOEIC Writing was 150 points, ranking 8th among the analyzed countries. The Philippines also reported the highest score in writing at 167 points, while Spain and Taiwan both achieved 157 points, tying for 2nd place. Vietnam followed with 154 points, and El Salvador recorded 152 points.

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