5,000 Korean English Teachers to Be Recruited This Year

The government is to recruit about 10,000 Korean instructors for conversational English classes at public schools over the next two years amid difficulties in the hiring of native English teachers.

They are expected to replace native English speakers in the long term, depending on their effectiveness, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said, Monday.

This year, it will hire 2,000 ``practical English instructors'' for elementary schools and another 3,000 for secondary schools. The ministry will start accepting applications in June and announce the successful candidates in August. The teachers will work from the fall semester.

Another 5,000 are to be recruited next year,

``Practical English lecturers will take part in extended English classes at elementary schools. At secondary schools, they will group students according to their academic level and offer tailor-made classes,'' ministry official Euh Hyo-jin said.The Korean instructors will receive about 26 million won ($18,882) in annual pay on a one-year contract and can renew for up to four years at one school. In comparison, native English teachers receive about 30 million won.``

Foreign native English speakers cannot teach students without Korean teachers, but the newly recruited teachers can teach on their own. We expect these instructors will replace foreign teachers over the long term,'' Euh added.

Candidates with teaching licenses will be given preference, although those who don't hold teaching certificates are eligible for the position. Recruiters at regional education offices will review applicants' profiles, English certificate scores and education career. Those who are accepted after the first document screening will have an opportunity to demonstrate their teaching abilities in English before taking an interview that they need to pass.

A survey by Korea's largest teachers group, the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, showed that more than half of existing English teachers opposed the recruitment of practical English instructors. The group asked 425 English teachers at elementary and secondary schools across the country and 57 percent of them responded negatively to the English instructors, while 25 percent said they need the instructors.Among those respondents against the instructors, 46 percent said it would bring unqualified teachers to schools and 21 percent said current teacher levels were already sufficient.

Class Observation at Riverside Language Program (March, 13th, 2009)

Class Observation at Riverside Language Program
Date: March 13th, 2009 Time: 09:15~5:00

The observation program starts with an overview of the school that covers a range of topics including philosophy and methodology, student population, teacher training, counseling and auxiliary service, placement and progress testing, intake and retention, program design. After then, observers have an opportunity to visit two different classes, one in the morning after the orientation and one in the afternoon after lunch. Finally, one of the directors meets with observers again for a closing session where visitors are invited to reflect on the day’s experience and/or to ask questions about some aspect of the school.

I have observed ALI (American Language Institute) at NYU since February and Riverside language program was my first observation outside of NYU. It was very different from what I’ve observed at ALI in terms of student population, student background, course objectives, and teaching style; most are immigrants or refugees who need to learn English to survive in US so most courses are much focused on speaking and listening skills rather than writing and reading skills, and teaching styles are quite different accordingly.

From this observation, especially, I was much impressed by silent way of teaching. I did not know much about silent way of teaching and how it works in the classroom as well since I have never seen teachers using this method in actual classroom. However, I have clearly seen and learned how the teacher taught the class in a silent way and how it worked through this observation. I have also learned that when it comes to one’s learning, active interaction between students is as much important as the interaction with the teacher by seeing those students who were willing to help each other when some students asked about the meaning of words or when some cannot think of words they tried to say.

Furthermore, pre- and post- session was very helpful for me to understand the language program and to share reflection, thoughts, and experience with other observers about different class observation.

It was the very first but great experience since it gave me ‘real’ ideas about everything can be changed in the actual classroom depending on different learning environment so that I need to be well aware of that and best apply it to my future classroom.

NYS TESOL 30th Annual Applied Linguistics Winter Conference (March, 07, 2009)

NYS TESOL 30th Annual Applied Linguistics Winter Conference
Second/Foreign Language Research: Information Technology, Inquiry & Interaction
Date: March 7, 2009 Time: 09:15~5:30

This TESOL conference was meaningful to me not only because it was the first time to participate in the conference, but also because it give me some hands-on experiences about teaching and chances to think deeply regarding teaching and learning in several ways.

Throughout the conference, a variety of topics associated with teaching – teaching reading and writing, teacher and student interaction, different activities in the classroom setting – were covered. The scheduled presentations reflected the diversity of research and approaches being implemented and explored in ESL and EFL classrooms as well as in academic research. Not only that, but it was great opportunity to meet with all different kinds of people – different school teachers, student teachers, students – to share experience, thoughts, and ideas in both research and the classroom. I have learned what really happens in the classroom and what strategies can be used in certain classroom environment depending on students’ level, age, gender, or ethnic background from different presentations and different people.

Moreover, the plenary speaker, Dr. John Liontas, offered insight on how we, as a teacher, can use technology for instructional and research purposes. Highlighting recent developments in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dr. Liontas traced recent trends in instructional technological development. Since I’m not the person who is into technological field, it really helped keep myself up-to-date. It gives me some thoughts about how and when to use technology in my future classroom.

Besides that, the publisher’s exhibit lasts throughout the day so I can visit there whenever I had a time. I visited before the conference started, during the lunch time, and after the conference ended, and I took advantage of the opportunity to peruse teaching materials including content-based books, children’s books, and so on and examine new offerings.

As researcher and teaching professionals, I have thought I must strive to bridge the gap between theory and practice and this conference help me bridge the gap between what I have learned and what I will teach. It gave me some practical, realistic ideas about teaching, what being a teacher means, and how I can apply what I will have been learned at NYU to teach most effectively in my future classroom.

Education Is Not All About Getting a Job

Education Is Not All About Getting a Job
By Robert Dickey

February is ``education month'' in Korea. Graduations and admissions take place in this month each year. Teachers are busy planning for their next school term, and students are playing as hard as they can in preparation for the months of study ahead. It is, therefore, reasonable for us to take a step back during this season and consider what ``education'' means here.

Prof. Robert Dickey Education has traditionally been the stepping-stone to success. Civil service positions in Korea were limited to those who passed challenging exams, whereas business or farming were for those who couldn't pass the test. Nowadays, jobs with leading corporations are reserved to those who've graduated from top schools, which can only be entered with top entrance-test scores. Social and economic success often pivots on education. No wonder parents and students give their all when it comes to study.

The Korean word for education is ``gyo-yuk,'' which derives from Chinese characters meaning ``mastery of the classics.'' Not so different from the classic Western ideal, which was the study of literature and philosophy, since the Chinese classics, like the Greek and Roman, generally mixed the two. These aren't very ``practical'' subjects, but both Korea and Europe of the 19th century limited education to a privileged few.

Education in Korea during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) was much the same as in the US at the time. Study went little beyond the ``Three Rs'' (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic). Literature, government documents, and religious texts were the focus of much of the reading. Writing seldom went beyond copying or dictation, and mathematics was limited to day-to-day usefulness. In Korea, lessons taught students to be loyal and useful subjects of the Japanese Empire. Memorization was all that mattered, as thinking was reserved for high government officials.

Prior to 1945, less than 30% of Korean children completed primary school. Government schools were poorly funded, and students often faced a need to help support their families long before their schooling was completed. For those with money, private tutoring or private schools with classic education designs were preferred.

Today, Korea follows a typical American schooling framework; 6 years of elementary school and 3 years each at middle and high school each, with 4 years of classes in university. The similarities end there.

The principle differences in education between Korea and western lands can be seen in the role of tests. It must be admitted that western educational standards continue to evolve, and the recent ``standards-driven'' and ``no child left behind'' programs in the US are moving away from the hard-to-quantify aims that were idealized in the 1980s, but a simple comparison of how one prepares for the university entrance exam is a good analogy for the aims of education in general.

The American high school teacher will say, ``You cannot study for the SAT. You have to develop thinking skills.'' While this is not altogether true, the assumption is that with regular high school lessons and a few hours of homework each day, admission to the best universities is available to anyone. The educational aim is to ``develop the whole person,'' which includes creativity and the ability to analyze new situations based on comparable cases ― the classic literature approach to education.

The Korean parent will say, ``Why aren't you studying?'' The assumption is that the high school classroom is not an adequate source of learning, and that additional resources are essential to obtain entry into top universities. One simply needs to memorize everything to be successful. A child's duty is to study.

Many Korean high school students spend more than 12 hours per day in classrooms studying, nearly double the official national curriculum. Extra hours take place at school, alone, with private tutors and in cram schools (hagwon). Although Korea spends over 7% of its GDP on education, it is estimated that roughly half of the amount is spent on extra-curricular study. The focus is on memorization of data to prepare for multiple-choice tests.
Koreans rightfully take pride in ``best of world'' rankings for high school students' knowledge in mathematics and science on paper and pencil tests. But these students too often lack the ability to apply their learning to life-like situations. They spend little time in chemistry laboratories and field-studies. They regurgitate history and literature as taught, but cannot critique the reasoning. They memorize grammatical rules and vocabulary without being able to write in their native language or in English.

If we look at a typical young Korean job applicant's resume, it is filled with entrance dates, such as when he or she entered high school, entered university, etc. A western resume has graduation dates. Entering the school or company is the success in Korea after which one can then relax until the next entrance exam. Korean university students, with no further educational entrance exams to prepare for, study for professional licenses and non-academic certificates. With increased competition for even the less-distinguished white-collar jobs, students have little time or motivation for their campus studies.

Many Koreans start their professional career before their university term has ended, and professors waive attendance for the final weeks (or months) of classes. And with the slowing economy, more students are delaying graduation, avoiding the shame of being a graduate without a quality job. After all, the purpose of all that education was to get that job! Entering a good company leads to higher status and a ``better'' spouse, and then the process renews itself.
rjdickey@content-english.org

Robert J. Dickey is a tenured professor at Gyeongju University in North Gyeongbuk Province. He has lived and taught in Korea since 1994, and is a former president of Korea TESOL.