The importance of English language learning and teaching in South Korea (original) (raw)
Related papers
English Language Teaching in South Korea: A Route to Success?
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2015
This paper is an attempt to investigate the status of English language teaching (ELT) in South Korea. To do so the historical background of ELT, and the reform movement, as a measure taken by the government to boost language education in this country, have been discussed. The outcome of this measure and the philosophical underpinning of education in this country along with different issues related to language teaching, such as: learning strategies, beliefs, language ideology, and the use of technology-assisted language teaching programs have been elaborated. Attempts have been made to demystify the ELT problems in this country with the aim of alleviating the shortcomings and improving the strengths of such an educational system. Putting different pieces of the ELT puzzle in South Korea together, some of the stunting factors were recognized to be: the ideological basis of the reform movement, lack of utilizing critical pedagogy, and insufficient attempts aimed at teaching language learning strategies and technology-assisted language learning normalization. Though this paper has focused on the status of ELT in Korea, many of the raised suggestions can be utilized in other countries, in particular Asian countries with Confucian background.
This theoretical essay has been written to critically explore the manner in which English is used as a globalizing medium in South Korea’s education sector. Attention is afforded to the (a) adoption of English as a medium instruction at the tertiary level, (b) practice of hiring native English speakers from non-education related degree fields to perform as teachers, and (c) use of English as a curricular device at the primary level to reinforce Korea’s cultural heritage. The knowledge generated from this report may be used to extend critical discourse concerning the rise of English in East Asia, call attention to recruitment practices that further the deprofessionalization of the second language teaching field, and challenge the inward emphasis placed on learning Korean cultural traditions in the English language classroom.
English Education Policies in South Korea
Language Policy, 2016
In South Korea, the government has actively promoted English proficiency as an indispensable tool in ascertaining competitiveness of individuals and the country. This chapter examines English education in South Korea and its policies as contextualized in its socio-cultural backgrounds. The discussion draws on theoretical insights that view policies as an interactive process among policy documents, the context and the actors in it (Ball, Maguire & Braun, 2012; Menken & Garcia, 2010). First, the background is laid out by illustrating the symbolic and practical meaning of the English language in the Korean context. Following that, the chapter traces the changes in English language teaching (ELT) policies through a historical survey of curricular reforms and also presents the current agenda of ELT policies, within which the communicative approach is strongly recommended, as reflected in the 7 th National Educational Curriculum. In an attempt to investigate ELT practice in context, two case studies, one at the primary level and the other at the secondary level, are presented, particularly to determine the relationship between policy and practice. Both case studies demonstrate that while teachers make efforts to follow the policies, how they actually implement them depends on their unique contexts and individual beliefs. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and policy making.
English language teaching research in South Korea: A review of recent studies (2009–2014)
Language Teaching, 2016
This article reviews recent studies on English language teaching (ELT) in South Korea, where a great deal of research has been produced in recent years in local journals. In this article we review 95 studies from a pool of some 1,200 published between 2009 and 2014 on English language teaching and learning, focusing on research within the public school context. Using themes from the national curriculum as an organizing principle, the review covers selected studies in the following areas: (1) second language teacher education, (2) communicative language teaching, (3) language use and interaction in classrooms, (4) co-teaching with native-speaking English teachers, (5) curriculum and materials analysis, (6) treatments of teaching methods, and (7) assessment, testing and washback. We include commentary on the research undertaken in each area and conclude by discussing the limitations of the review and summarizing ideas for future research directions, perhaps the most important of which is questioning whether or not there is enough research of reasonable quality being produced to sustain roughly 60 journals publishing articles on English education in South Korea.
International Journal of Educational Technology and Learning
As the use of English in the academic world increases around the world, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) continues to grow. The increase in demand for EAP courses and teachers often finds English teachers having to prepare students to study in fields that they themselves might not be familiar with or teach a style of course they might not have done before. In addition to these obstacles, there are many institutional barriers that prevent teachers from teaching EAP properly. This paper examines these problems in the South Korean university context. Currently many Native English Speaking (NES) English teachers are transitioning from teaching Commutative Language Teaching (CLT) classes to teaching EAP courses and are experiencing many problems and barriers as they transition and teach EAP. 10 NES university teachers were interviewed in order to gather qualitative data about their experiences in teaching EAP courses in an attempt to better understand the current situation in many Korean universities. The data gathered revealed many similar problems and led to ideas for possible improvement on many levels.
2015
English is considered the most important language after Korean in South Korea; thus, it is a compulsory subject in schools. English lessons begin in year three of the primary school and continue until the end of schooling, including at the university level. This was not always the case, as English was not considered to be significant until the Korean government needed people who could speak it in order to communicate with the US military during the Korean War. After a period where English was backgrounded by more pressing issues, it re-emerged as necessary to promote globalisation which was seen as a challenge for the Korean people. More recently, additional pressure to improve Korean students’ English language competence has come from an increasing economic dependence on international trade. The Department of Education has responded differently to these three main points of pressure to improve English language competency. Initially, they adopted a grammar-translation method to resp...
Perceptions of the Importance of Studying English among Average Korean University Students
International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 2022
When students choose to undertake English studies, one might assume that their natural drive and curiosity for the subject would lead them. However, in Korea, my observation is that most students study English at the behest of some influential force or figure in their lives or that it is a compulsory requirement but not because it is their own earnest passion. This paper will investigate this phenomenon. I have surveyed 359 students directly at two average Korean universities regarding their personal feelings about the importance of learning English. I hope to determine whether, despite the hardships, they think it is worth the effort or if they are simply learning to please overzealous parents, school, and government administrators or prepare for the corporate sector's current hiring requirements.
The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 2018
This study contributes towards understanding the classroom practices of Korean public school English teachers by introducing and applying an observation protocol which analyzes how teachers’ pedagogic activities relate to curricular recommendations for English education such as having student-centered, meaning-focused, and communicative English classes. The study included three classes each from two experienced and two novice primary school English teachers. The analysis showed that the experienced teachers’ classes were much more communicative and student-centered than the novice teachers’ classes were (e.g., 40% to 64% of class time spent on communicative activities versus 8% to 25% for the novice teachers), but that both novice and experienced teachers focused mostly on language forms rather than meaning in their lessons, and that none of the teachers used any task-based activities. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for future research based on these results.
Language and Intercultural Communication, 2014
This study aims to contrastively examine Korean and international students' experiences of taking subject courses at a Korean university. Focusing on the viewpoints of the students, rather than central authorities, we attempt to reveal how language use and cultural factors are interpenetrated in the praxis of English-medium instruction (EMI). The data consist of questionnaire responses of 249 Koreans and 61 international students from non-English-speaking countries and qualitative interviews with 23 Korean and 9 international students. Korean participants were found to perceive the effect of English proficiency on achievement (ENG) to be significant, while their confidence in participating in activities in EMI (ACT) classes was the lowest. Whereas the international students did not relate ENG to other factors of EMI, Koreans perceived this factor to be relevant to all the aspects of EMI. During the interviews, international students, with a limited level of tolerance of Korean use, were found to experience frustration with the lack of interaction in their courses. We discuss the findings in terms of ownership of English and highlight how important it is for the Korean and international students to have a shared definition of the role of English as a lingua franca in an EMI classroom.