[Viewpoint] Why Did Englishman Lingard Fail to Solve the CSAT English Exam?

I tried solving the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) English questions. I started from question 18, which requires reading the passage and finding the answer. Thinking the difficulty was similar to last year’s, I proceeded until I stopped at question 32. This question, which asks about the ‘true goal of education,’ requires accurately understanding the meaning of the text rather than just translating it. I had to find the most suitable sentence for the blank, so I first eliminated two options that were definitely incorrect, then excluded some that seemed less certain, and finally guessed between the remaining two. I took comfort in the fact that the wrong answer rate for this question was 84%.

The CSAT English is difficult even for native English speakers. A video of Jesse Lingard, who transferred from the English Premier League to K-League’s FC Seoul this year and has gained great popularity, reacting to last year’s questions by saying, “Oh, my... students do this? It’s unbelievable,” went viral.

CSAT English ultimately tests literacy in a foreign language. It is natural that students who have learned English through test preparation find it difficult. Our society seriously empathizes with the fact that students’ literacy is declining, as digital devices are part of their lives, or rather almost everything.

The Ministry of Education has unveiled AI digital textbooks for use in educational settings starting from the 2025 academic year. Korea is the first country in the world to have all students in public education use AI textbooks. These are used in math and English for 3rd and 4th graders in elementary school, and 1st graders in middle and high school choose one of 76 AI digital textbooks in English, math, and information subjects to use alongside printed textbooks. Unlike regular e-books, classes are conducted focusing on experiential activities. Students can interact with each other and ask and answer questions like ChatGPT. There is also a report that the rate of students below basic academic achievement reaching the basic level has increased more than threefold. This is according to the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry is pushing ahead rapidly to fully introduce digital textbooks in the 2025 academic year. However, it has not addressed the side effects of this hasty implementation. Experts point out that the biggest problem with AI textbooks is that they are not artificial intelligence models that generate text naturally by learning vast amounts of data. Instead, they analyze incorrect answers made during problem-solving and predict specific patterns to reduce the error rate. On the 2nd of this month, the Ministry delivered the final approved web exhibition version of the AI textbooks to schools and held a demonstration. Teachers on site responded skeptically. The consensus is that “except for the fact that students and teachers write together, there is little difference from private education programs, and the effectiveness of the classes cannot be immediately known, so we need to observe further.” They also disagree with the Ministry’s claim that the biggest advantage is reducing educational disparities.

Since the program used in some private education has been transplanted into public education, students who properly utilize it will likely be those in the middle or higher ranks, and students who fall behind will need customized education from teachers. It is hard to expect effectiveness for students who ask why a ‘garodeung’ (streetlight) is called that when it stands vertically, students who interpret the phrase ‘market is side dish’ as ‘there are many side dishes at the market,’ or students who say that when the teacher says ‘starting point of the problem,’ they think the teacher is swearing during class.

The controversy continues. Despite major concerns, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, a market-oriented policymaker, is pushing forward as planned. On the 26th of last month, the Democratic Party of Korea proposed an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that defines digital textbooks as ‘educational materials’ rather than ‘textbooks,’ and this bill is currently pending in the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. While textbooks must be adopted compulsorily, if classified as educational materials, the school principal decides whether to use them.