Second Language Environment in Korea

Seol, Inseon (Sunny)

Teacher - David Moroney

Word Count - 750

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Analysis/ Examples ---------------------------Korea Times Feb.5, 2008

3. Conclusion

4. References

1. Introduction

Education in South Korea is seen as the most important key to success and competition is consequently very heated and fierce (who said this? A reference would be good here).  Mathematics, science, Korean, social studies, and English are generally considered to be the most important subjects. Among these subjects, as English has become an object of wealth and social status some people are keen to learn English as a method of maintaining or raising their own class value. Under this circumstance, as a person who got through traditional English classrooms and as a mother of 2 sons or private English tutor who has a deep interest in English education wants to share my experience and derive better way for our kids through this article.

2. Analysis/ Examples

At the very beginning, when early 40's was about to start to learn English as a second language following the assumption of power by General Chun Doo Hwan in 1980, the Ministry of Education implemented a number of reforms designed to make the system more fair and to increase higher education opportunities for the population at large (another good time for a reference).  One of the reforms was the prohibition of private, after-school tutoring. Under the new rules, students receiving tutoring could be suspended from school and their tutors dismissed from their jobs. There was ample evidence in the mid-1980s, however, that the law had simply driven the private tutoring system underground and made the fees more expensive.  Students and their parents took the risk of being caught, believing that coaching in weak subject areas could give students the edge needed to get into a better university. By the late 1980s, however, the tutorial system seemed largely to have disappeared.  It means that this law prevented many opportunities to get a better education for most of early 40's especially in English.  It may be hard to evaluate all English teachers through someone's personal experiences. But, it was true that most of English teachers in public school didn't get a proper education to teach English as a second language  to students. English teaching method put disproportionate emphasis on grammar and translation into Korean.  English wasn't a language to communicate but one of the subjects which had to be tested.  Besides, secondary school is widely considered to be a preparatory stage for entering Higher Education, gaining a good grade is crucial. This tends to make students extremely exam-conscious. English teachers likewise focus on the skills needed to answer the exam questions, placing excessive emphasis on reading and grammar.

Unfortunately, things have not changed a lot until now.  Test from junior schools are still emphasized on reading and grammar.  But, learning to speak English has become more and more important to Koreans. Since 1997, in keeping with developments in information technology and globalization, English has been incorporated into the primary school curriculum. Primary school children learn English for four years from years 3 to 6 (you can use the article I gave you and quote Li here as a reference). The main aim of the English class is to encourage children's interest in English language and culture. However, the class size of about forty pupils makes the situation difficult for interaction between the teacher and children. Excepting in a few special schools, children rarely have a chance to meet a native speaker of English.  Because of large class sizes and other factors in public schools, many parents pay to send their children to private English-language schools in the afternoon or evening. Usually different private English-language schools specialize in teaching elementary school students or in middle and high school students. The most ambitious parents send their children to kindergartens that utilize English exclusively in the classroom. Many children also live abroad for anywhere from a few months to several years to learn English (how about your case? Did you spend some time abroad? Would you like to send your children abroad? You can add your personal feelings and experience here if you wish).

The following passage from an article of the Korea Times (dated February 5, 2008) offers an excellent illustration of the current extraordinary status of English in Korea society.

"According to a report by the Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI), Koreans spend about 15 trillion won ($15.8 billion) on English learning per year. Koreans also topped the applicant list of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) between 2004 and 2005 as about 102,340 out of the 554,942 applicants were Koreans.

They also paid 700 billion won toward English examination fees. Enthusiasm for English study has also seen a large number of children, teenagers and even adults going to English-speaking countries like the United States, Australia and Britain to study. Last year some 250,000 under 29 years old went abroad for studying.

The English frenzy saw the coining of the term ``goose father,’’ referring to a father who lives alone in Korea having sent his spouse and children to a foreign country to study English or some other form of advanced study. The goose fathers are estimated to be about 200,000 goose daddies nationwide.

Most Koreans start to learn English from middle or elementary school. By the time they graduate, they have already spent about 100,000 hours on English studying, according to the SERI report. In this remarkable advancement of the English language in Korean society, the government’s educational policies have played crucial roles, for English language education (ELE) has served as the main vehicle of the spread of English in Korea and most of its development has been led and shaped by the educational policies of the highly centralized government."

3. Conclusion

President Lee Myung-bak has made known his intention to restructure the nationwide system of English language education. As a presidential nominee he pledged to reinforce public education in such a way that all high school graduates can communicate with foreigners without difficulty, and his presidential transition team suggested that all the English classes in high schools be taught in English.  Many policies in education has been changed in the track of each government.  But, English education has to be treated separately.  English is not a knowledge that we scrutinize from the beginning to the end but it's a tool we communicate with others in this time of globalization.  With our new President's pragmatism and our efforts, English education in Korea can be placed in the right position sooner or later.

4. References

Wikipedia     the free encyclopedia

Korea Times  English Education in Korea: It’s Time for Accountability

October 21, 2007

Korea Times   Feb.5, 2008

Kim Eun-gyong  associate professor of applied linguistics and Associate Dean of

the Center for International Affairs, Information and communication

University (ICU) in Daejeon.

Dear Sunny,

Your paper is very good even though you have not written one before. I think though that you should also mention traditional vs modern classrooms and the different teacher types that exist in Korea. I just want to see that you understand the key words in Module 1 and 2 so try to use them if you can. Other than that you have a good paper and if you have any more questions then let me know.

See you tomorrow,

Regards,

David Moroney