The Korean Governments Recent Reforms in English Education

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The Korean Governments Recent Reforms in English
Education

• Jun-Eon Park
• (Soongsil University, Korea)

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I. Present situation

• 1. Low level of English proficiency
• In 2005, Korea ranked 16th among 32 Asian
  countries, and 93rd among 227 countries in TOEFL

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Table 1. TOEFL scores
(ETS, 2005)
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• 2. Sharp discrepancy between communicative
  skills and reading grammar skills
• Spoken English ability is ranked 105th among 108
  countries. (ETS, 2001

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Table 2. Speaking test score
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• 3. Rapid increases in private tutoring and early
  study abroad
• 1) Exponential increase of cost for early study
  abroad exodus

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Table 3. Annual cost for study
abroad
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• 2) Aggravating English Divide
• Urban high income families spend more money for
  private English education than rural low income
  families.

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Table 4. Regional gaps in students
achievement levels (2004)
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II. Analysis of the Problems

• 1. Discrepancy between public English education
  and social demands on communicative English
• - Companies consider communicative proficiency
  as the most important factor in recruiting new
  employees.
• - English proficiency level affects the salary
  and promotion of employees

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• 2. Failure of public English education system to
  meet social demand on communicative proficiency
  due to restricting factors
• - large class size,
• - lack of proficient English teachers,
• - lack of English using environments, etc.

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Table 5. Percentage of English
teachers who can teach English in English
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• 3. Limited exposure to English
• Learning and using English outside the school
  environment is very limited

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Table 6. National differences in English
education in schools
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III. Reform Moves

• Goal
• - Substantial improvement in English teachers
  proficiency by 2010
• - Gradual increases of NES teachers by 2010 and
  decreases of them after 2010

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• 1. Securing proficient English teachers
• 1) Intensive retraining of in-service English
  teachers
• - Intensive long-term retraining (6 months 1
  year) of 1,000 English teachers annually until
  2015
• - Providing customized retraining programs for
  English teachers
• 2) Compulsory participation in English retraining
  programs at 5 year interval

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• 2. Upgrading the standards for recruiting English
  teachers
• - Reforms of English teacher recruiting exams
• 1st part English listening
• 2nd part English essay
• 3rd part simulated test in teaching English in
  English

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• 3. Renovating pre-service English teacher
  education system
• - Renovation of curriculum in teachers colleges
  focusing on improving English proficiency and
  teaching skills
• - Shift of curriculum from academic-based one to
  skill-based one
• - Encouraging English lectures in all courses
• - Hiring more NES lectures in teachers colleges

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• 4. Improving NES teacher recruiting and
  management processes
• - Diversifying the sources of NES teachers
• - Utilizing ethnic Koreans living in
  English-speaking countries
• - Recruiting teachers from English-speaking
  countries with teacher credentials
• - Systematic management and retraining of NES
  teachers
• - Continued hiring of NES teachers in schools

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Table 7. Numbers of recruited NES teachers
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• 5. Strengthening communicative English education
• 1) Curricular reinforcement
• - Extending elementary school English education
  to 1st and 2nd grades
• - Increasing class hours in elementary school
  English education
• 2) Improving the quality of English textbooks
• - Multimedia-based, activity-based textbook
  development

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• 3) Implementing English immersion education in
  special regions free economic zones, Jeju
  Special Self-governing Province, etc. mainly
  math and science
• - Gradual nationwide diffusion of immersion
  English education
• 4) Introducing national-level English proficiency
  assessment system.
• - Establishing national English proficiency
  assessment agency in 2007

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• 6. Reducing English Divide
• 1) Establishing so-called English experience
  area in individual schools
• 2) Operating satellite TV channels for English
  learning purposes
• 3) Utilizing Internet portal sites for English
  learning purposes
• - Developing e-learning contents
• - Providing English learning contents for DMB,
  MP3 users

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IV. Concluding Remarks

• The Korean governments recent reforms in English
  education are the belated responses to the harsh
  criticisms of the public and private sectors that
  the current English education system has failed
  to produce proficient English users.
• To remedy the high cost, low efficiency
  problems prevailing in English education, the
  Korean government has started to make all-out
  efforts to renovate the whole system of English
  education. If all the reform measures are carried
  out successfully as planned, the future of
  English education in Korea is expected to be much
  brighter than now.

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• Thank you for your listening.
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