South Korea to hire unqualified hacks, Taiwan to blame teachers for failures
South Korea: Hagwon Seek to Block Unqualified Foreign Teachers
In a move that makes a frightening amount of sense, the association of foreign language institutes (hagwon) said recently that the government should block the inflow of unqualified native English teachers, making clear its opposition to a policy to increase the number of “questionable instructors.”
The Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies (KAFLA) complained that the government was ‘recklessly’ opening the door to foreigners without building any safeguard against unqualified teachers (duh). Native English speakers who have no teaching experience in their 20s receive the same salaries as Koreans who have taught English for more than 10 years, she said.
Malaysia: Changes for Better English Teaching Soon
Changes may be made to the teaching of English, especially in primary schools, to ensure that students get a better grasp on the language.
‘We may stretch the English lesson period by shortening the time for other subjects, or train and outsource more teachers to teach English,’ Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday. ‘We will make an effort to ensure that the usage of English language is strengthened.’
Taiwan: TOEFL Scores Reflect Poor Teaching Methods
Blame the teacher, that’s what I say. Nowadays, it is commonly recognized in Taiwan that the ability to use English is an important skill. In many government organizations as well as private ones, proficiency in English is necessary for promotions or appointments to supervisory positions. With all the enthusiasm for English among the Taiwanese, and the enormous stock of resources spent in this area, it would seem that the average level of English ability in Taiwan should be outstanding as compared with the people in neighboring countries.
The contrary is true, however, if the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is a fairly accurate measurement of how successful one can be in using English. It must be admitted that the level of English proficiency of the Taiwanese is embarrassingly poor. Can’t possibly be the students to blame, could it?
Sphere: Related Content
Leave a Reply