Korean Job Discussion Forums

[World Traveler]

President Park Geun-hye called for the education ministry to come forward with fundamental steps to correct the education environment requiring students to over-study English.

She made the remarks Thursday during a policy report by the Ministry of Education (MOE), which announced a package of steps aimed at reducing private education expenses especially for English.

In its annual policy report to Park, the ministry pledged to lower the level of difficulty of test questions for the English section of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).

“Students have to learn basic skills of English. However, not every student has to learn beyond that unless they want to pave the way toward a career requiring professional English proficiency,” President Park said. “More fundamental measures should be prepared against the current education environment demanding the over-education of English to students.”

The ministry’s decision is aimed at reducing expenses for private education for English at cram schools or “hagwon,” and eventually lowering the burden for parents.

According to data released by the ministry, the amount of private education expenses for English reached 6.5 trillion won among total private education expenses estimated at 19 trillion won in 2012.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/02/181_151568.html

“The length of text will be shortened, and the number of questions in the listening section will be also reduced from 22 to 17 in a bid to gradually reduce the total amount of test papers,” said Na Seung-il, the vice-minister of the MOE during a brief session.

In addition, the MOE also pledged to keep banning English immersion programs operating under preschool curriculums in line with relieving the cost burden for private education.

Private elementary schools will be also banned from providing English class after regular class hours and using textbooks published in the United States or other countries.

[Milwaukiedave]

I recently was doing some research and saw the 19 trillion won figure. That is for English, math, science, etc. It is interesting to see that 6.5 is the figure for English.

[CentralCali]

The last "big idea" to lower parents' spending on English classes resulted in the public schools turning into hagweons before school, during lunch, after school, and on weekends. Why would this "bright idea" be any different?

[Fox]

[Rockhard]

This is just government at its worst. Treating the symptom not the cure. Trying to parent for parents. Creating miles of red tape that accomplishes nothing. Driving businesses underground. Propping up inefficient national industries. Tisk tisk.

Nothing will change as long as the fundamental formula doesn't change.

Study a lot = high score on entrance exam = spot at top university = hired by corporation or government = money = house, wife, children

I think the biggest problem with the Korean model is it's great at taking the brightest minds in the country and putting them at the top, but it leaves everyone else behind as destroyed individuals. It's a one-size fits all model and if you don't fit, F U, basically.

There needs to be other avenues to success that don't involve book smarts. 3/4 of my students will never learn English because they just aren't that smart. It's kicking a dead horse. I know they should be doing something else. They know they should be doing something else. But there's nothing else for them to do.

So instead of trying to prevent people from studying, how about creating non-academic paths to success.

Such as,

1) Phase out the mandatory military service and replace it with a well-paid standing army.

2) Cancel all foreign labor visas and force industries to raise wages to make it an middle-class job

3) Raise the minimum wage.

4) Build government housing until the bubble pops and housing becomes affordable again.

5) Dramatically reduce university spots to deter the unqualified from pursuing pointless degrees.

6) A little redistribution wouldn't hurt either.

[Squire]

It's incredible how badly young adults speak English given how much they've studied. I don't know exactly which age group were the first to start learning English from grade 3 elementary, but I don't see the big difference in ability between people in their mid 30s (an age group I know only started English at middle school) and people in their early 20s. I'm going mostly on public school workers here

It seems odd to me because I actually think the public school English programs in elementary schools are pretty decent. At least, not as bad as many say. My own Korean ability isn't a lot better than grade 6 English, but I can do a hell of a lot with it in practice- particularly when I can refer to my phone dictionary to look words up. If young Korean adults were at that stage once, and then did middle school, high school and some uni English, why on earth aren't they speaking basic expressions confidently?

That said, just because I believe the English program can be decent at schools doesn't mean the actual education is all that good. I wonder what the point of dedicated Korean English teachers is when they use no more English in class than a homeroom teacher would. At best when I'm around the KET might blurt out a few words in English while the kids wait for the inevitable translation, but that's about it

[Chia Pet]

[Weigookin74]

It's funny. English has only just recently gotten good here because of these hakwons and preschool English programs. Sounds like President Park wants to put Korea back in the dark ages. When I lived in the country several years ago, I often heard: "We don't need English", "I't's not needed by everyone.", etc. Sounds like these xenophobes have finally gotten one of their own into power and are echoing the same thing.

If they really wanted to eliminate English spending, introduce kids to English in kindergarden and the early grades of elementary. Put native speakers into these environments for 10 years and then get to the point that we truly are no longer needed. Her bashing of English is just treating the symptom and not the problem.

Companies will still have English interviews and many Koreans do want to be able to travel and work abroad. There has been a lot of cutting out at the university level.

[Stain]

[wanderkind]

[Steelrails]

Government makes one good point...

[World Traveler]

[Drew345]

Reminds me of this satire video about education budgets.

http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-are-our-children-learning-enough-about,14151/

(for some reason this won't open in firefox)

[edwardcatflap]

[radcon]

So bizarre that these politicians don't understand their own culture. Korean parents aren't interested in raising educated, well rounded progeny. Korean moms are only concerned with being better than the competition. Neighbor kids studies 10 hours, we must do 11.
All of this talk about financial burden. There is no financial burden. Choose not to send your kids to hagwon, no burden. But this is unfathomable for most Korean parents.

A wise Korean guy once told me that Korea's biggest problem is that Koreans are too ambitious, often unrealistically. You can't get into Harvard without knowing English.