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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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 Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:36 am Post subject: Only Koreans to be teaching English by 2012? Good luck! |
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From the "well, good luck with that" file:
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Classes to Be Conducted in English From 2015
By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
English teachers in schools nationwide will have to conduct English classes without the help of native English speaking teachers by 2015.
Kim Shin-il, deputy prime minister and minister of education and human resources development, Friday announced a plan to redesign English education in such a way as to reduce people�s private spending on the subject.
According to the plan, school English teachers will have to begin to conduct classes in English in 2009, and the government aims at making all schools use only English in their classes by 2015.
``Koreans are less competent in practical communication skills for speaking, listening, and writing, compared to their ability for translation and reading comprehension. Hence, we will reinforce school English education focused on speaking and listening skills,�� said Kim. ``From next year until 2015, 10,000 English teachers across the nation will receive intensive English courses so that every English teacher will be able to carry out classes in English.��
The plan also obliges applicants for English teacher positions to take listening as well as essay tests from 2009. The number of native English assistant teachers from elementary school to high school will increase to 2,900 by 2010. EBS Plus 3, a satellite TV channel of the state-run EBS, will be an exclusive channel for providing foreign language education including English by next year.
The government will actively seek to employ Korean residents and Korean adoptees from English-speaking countries as assistant teachers. To be qualified for a position, a university degree and E-2 visa are obligatory. |
Now I thought a couple years ago the government's plan was to have some TV/Internet thingy do away with hagwons. Uh huh. In typical fashion, what the government offered was crap and parents kept sending their kids to hagwon.
If I recall, hagwons were illegal, because the government didn't want this kind of class difference. The rich being able to, gasp, afford better tutors. But like keeping motorcycles off the sidewalk, some things just aren't enforceable. |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:29 am Post subject: |
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| The government will actively seek to employ Korean residents and Korean adoptees from English-speaking countries as assistant teachers. |
How racist is that.....? "we only want ethnic Koreans in the country"...
You see this and 101 other examples are why korea will never be the hub of anything. They are unable to shake their debilitating xenophobia. |
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Kimchieluver
Joined: 02 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:33 am Post subject: |
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| It will never happen. Just like the proposed native speaker in every public school by 2010. A pipe dream. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| I think it will be really for Koreans to conduct classes in English. I suggest the first subject they pick is English. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:40 am Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
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| The government will actively seek to employ Korean residents and Korean adoptees from English-speaking countries as assistant teachers. |
How racist is that.....? "we only want ethnic Koreans in the country"...
You see this and 101 other examples are why korea will never be the hub of anything. They are unable to shake their debilitating xenophobia. |
It strikes me as counter productive to the goal of creating English speaking global citizens, ostensibly because it allows them to increase Korea's trade. I've always assumed one of our primary roles is simply being the big furry evil thing Koreans fear to find in their closet, a thing that might make them speak English. We're a baby step for them. But now they want to do away with that in favor of Koreans who look just like them and won't challenge their cultural desire to crawl into their shells.
All because nearly every parent in Korea just doesn't get that you don't have to ram your kid into every bloody conceivable hagwon 3 times a day, 6 days a week.
Wonder how this will affect schools for adults? I gather that will be untouched. For now. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 3:25 am Post subject: |
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Korean education policy changes almost as often as I change my underwear.
In theory, there is nothing wrong with the idea of having only Koreans teach in their public schools. There is no innate reason why Korean teachers can't be educated to teach a language. Other countries find it possible to set up programs in which useful/helpful methodologies of instruction educate their citizens to become fluent in various languages.
As long as Korea insists on grouping 30-40 students together to take every subject presented, regardless of individual talents and interests; as long as Korea insists on 'teaching to the test' as a way of separating people into ranks of who will be allowed to succeed and who will not; as long as Korea insists that government bureaucrats chosen for their political views will determine educational policy, rather than letting schools with trained professionals determine most of policy, the results are not going to change. All that will change will be the policy, year after year after year. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:32 am Post subject: |
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Strikes me as somewhat realistic & realizable.
Just passing through you might see the current state of english teaching in the public schools as abysmal but theres a world of difference between young Korean teachers coming into the system & the old guard being phased out. A lot of the kids are getting quite capable too.
New teachers have considerable opportunities for govt-supported intensive study with native speakers & to travel & study abroad. My province has effectively placed a native speaker in every middle school & has plans to put one in every elementary school as well in the next couple years. This is having a real effect on Korean english teachers' speaking ability.
Tongue-tied is giving way to communicative. Its a snowball rolling downhill & gaining momentum. Korea has made remarkable strides in the few short years of its english project.
Inviting gyopos back to teach is a no-brainer. They tend to have better sensitivity to the culture than foreigners, too many of whom are pains in the ass for Korean administrators. Its about language, not social reformation. Korea is not about to reinvent itself on the say-so of strident young transient "teachers."
10 years hence, there will be a much-reduced niche market for native speakers of english. You'll be qualified to offer something specific or find yourself unemployable here. One person in ten on the street (city, town, or village) will be quite conversant in english, & most of the rest wont feel uncomfortable trying.
Mark my words. |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:42 am Post subject: |
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| LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:48 am Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
Strikes me as somewhat realistic & realizable.
Just passing through you might see the current state of english teaching in the public schools as abysmal but theres a world of difference between young Korean teachers coming into the system & the old guard being phased out. A lot of the kids are getting quite capable too.
New teachers have considerable opportunities for govt-supported intensive study with native speakers & to travel & study abroad. My province has effectively placed a native speaker in every middle school & has plans to put one in every elementary school as well in the next couple years. This is having a real effect on Korean english teachers' speaking ability.
Tongue-tied is giving way to communicative. Its a snowball rolling downhill & gaining momentum. Korea has made remarkable strides in the few short years of its english project.
Inviting gyopos back to teach is a no-brainer. They tend to have better sensitivity to the culture than foreigners, too many of whom are pains in the ass for Korean administrators. Its about language, not social reformation. Korea is not about to reinvent itself on the say-so of strident young transient "teachers."
10 years hence, there will be a much-reduced niche market for native speakers of english. You'll be qualified to offer something specific or find yourself unemployable here. One person in ten on the street (city, town, or village) will be quite conversant in english, & most of the rest wont feel uncomfortable trying.
Mark my words. |
Heh heh heh. When I first came here (about six years ago or so) people were saying that in 10 years time we'd be phased out. If anything the market has gotten stronger. And there will always be hakwons. "See, See WE'VE got a native speaker! Send your kid to OUR hakwon!"
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Mark my words. |
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the eye
Joined: 29 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Heh heh heh. When I first came here (about six years ago or so) people were saying that in 10 years time we'd be phased out. If anything the market has gotten stronger. And there will always be hakwons. "See, See WE'VE got a native speaker! Send your kid to OUR hakwon!"
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Mark my words. |
If this is a governmental initiative, they'll kill the E2 visa.
Mark my words. |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:03 am Post subject: |
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| the eye wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Heh heh heh. When I first came here (about six years ago or so) people were saying that in 10 years time we'd be phased out. If anything the market has gotten stronger. And there will always be hakwons. "See, See WE'VE got a native speaker! Send your kid to OUR hakwon!"
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Mark my words. |
If this is a governmental initiative, they'll kill the E2 visa.
Mark my words. |
Yeah! They'll kill the E2 and make them to F visas and beg for us to come teach them. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| the eye wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Heh heh heh. When I first came here (about six years ago or so) people were saying that in 10 years time we'd be phased out. If anything the market has gotten stronger. And there will always be hakwons. "See, See WE'VE got a native speaker! Send your kid to OUR hakwon!"
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Mark my words. |
If this is a governmental initiative, they'll kill the E2 visa.
Mark my words. |
Switch to the F2 then... find a nice (or not so nice) Korean girl and marry her 
On a serious note just go somewhere else. The demand in China is growing(as the middle class does) and wages seem to be going up every year.
But I'll wager this will be a repeat of the 3 year degree fiasco.
Koreans aren't going to start speaking English in class just because the government says they are. You can't mandate something like that by government edict. If the Canadian or U.S government said teachers have to start speaking Chinese in a decade or so...do you think that will happen?
Besides which you'll have the teachers union out on the street should the government start pushing changes...and they are militant and powerful. And should the change come through I'll bet that most teachers will ignore it simply because most can't string a sentence together.
For example:
I wanted to teach the teachers at my school nouns and articles as they are absolutely horrid at it. But no, they wanted to know about topics such as N.A diet, N.A education system....I was reduced to using stuff from Let's Go 5 in order to help them understand...and even then it was all they could do to handle it. And most of them are young teachers not the old guard. Nice people and I really like them...but these teachers classes (8 of them) are going to be brutal. And these are English teachers. I have yet to hear a single Korean English teacher conduct a entire class in English in all the hakwons or public school that I have been in.
Attempting to mandate the language that people speak isn't going to work. You can't increase people's ability at a language by government edict. And even if you could it will take a lot longer than a decade. Besides which just speaking English in the classroom and then using Korean outside of it for all other tasks doesn't work. Been there done that.
Mark my words. |
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markhan
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:31 am Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The government will actively seek to employ Korean residents and Korean adoptees from English-speaking countries as assistant teachers. |
How racist is that.....? "we only want ethnic Koreans in the country"...
You see this and 101 other examples are why korea will never be the hub of anything. They are unable to shake their debilitating xenophobia. |
What's so racist about it?
In fact the title "Only Koreans to be teaching English by 2012?" is very misleading. It is more of "Only Koreans who are capable of conversing in English fluently will be allow to teach English class by 2012."
I have no idea why OP is misleading us.
And, ask yourself. If Americans have choice of hiring someone who is culturally intimate with America and who is also bi-bilingual against some foreigner who only speaks one language, who would you pick?
How is this "debilitating xenophobia"?
It is perhaps your attitude why some Koreans are behaving "xenophobia" against you. |
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rothkowitz
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:42 am Post subject: |
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Markhan,
Re-read the first sentence please.
ie"Without the help of........."
Personally,I don't care if it's interpreted as xenophobic or not as I think it's simply a nothing idea from the get-go.
It's just room-salon brain-storming.This proposal will die out when they get to the details. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:11 am Post subject: |
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The plan and the intent seem to not be well connected. First, I think the Seoul government just launched some initiative to hire almost a thousand foreigners for the public school system. It would appear now they're all to go once one single cohort of children make it through k-7.
More to the point, the intent seems to be to save parents hagwon costs. How will having Koreans (be they real Koreans or these mysterious legions of adoptees who will some how make up the ranks vacated by whitey) teaching Koreans in public school accomplish this? Koreans will deliver superior English education and speaking ability to Korean children and parents will be so satisfied with this that they won't throw their kids in hagwon?
The whole EBS initiative a couple years ago was meant to drive expensive hagwons into the sea... like that worked. |
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