ELT World » s korea

South Korea: Animosity against English teachers in Seoul

david — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:48:02 +0000

Picture this scene, if you will:

‘It all started with a Halloween party at a bar in 2004. Most everyone was wearing a risque costume; the women were showing a lot of skin.

Many foreign English teachers attended. When the photographs made their way to the internet, the English teachers were blamed. Critics objected to the revealing costumes, worn by both foreigners and locals, saying they undermined Korean women.

At around the same time, news reports were circulating in Korea about foreign English teachers getting involved in drugs and sexual crimes, stirring up concern among parents and the public.’

Jiyeon Lee reports thus in the Global Post on an apparent upswing in animosity toward foreign English teachers, which has led to the formation of the Citizens of Right Education, a group (now of 17,000 members) that has apparently taken it upon itself to rid the country of foreign, unqualified English teachers.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned!

South Korea: British Dulwich to Offer 3 Language Courses

david — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:25:16 +0000

Not that offering courses in three (that’s 3) different languages is any kind of record, but prospective students of Dulwich College, scheduled to open in Seoul in 2010 will have a chance to learn three languages at the same time. I know, you can scare contain your excitement.

Fraser White, executive chairman of the Dulwich College Management International (DCMI) said that the school, which already runs three international schools in China, will provide English, Korean and Mandarin courses.

Koreans are flocking to the Philippines to learn English

david — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:53:53 +0000

South Korea & the Philippines: ‘They come in their thousands every month, eager to learn what is considered as the language of some 1.8 billion people worldwide,’ exclaims the Korea Times with no small degree of hyperbole.

For South Korean students, the Philippines has now become something of a haven as far as learning the English language is concerned. Indeed, the last five years has seen a phenomenal rise in terms of the Philippines becoming the prime source of English education for South Koreans. ‘Whether they come to the Philippines to study English or sit in front of their computers at home in Seoul and learn the correct pronunciation of English words from a teacher in Manila, South Koreans are bent on learning English as a second language as part of the globalisation plan implemented by the government.’

Read more about this subject here in the full article.

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South Korea: A mature conscript teaching English

david — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:27:59 +0000

Tom Jang has been teaching English in a community center in Ilsan 1-dong in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province as part of his military service and is a celebrity in the neighborhood as a rather mature soldier.

According to The Chosun, he is teaching five classes, for adults as well as children. In addition to inexpensive tuition, Jang is known for his passion about teaching, making teaching materials on his own. That is why his classes draw so many students.

Read the full story…

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Seniors plan to teach English in South Korea

david — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:08:46 +0000

South Korea and America: Are you looking for a teaching job? Try going abroad, advises the Whitworthian. According to a recent article on the Florida Times-Union’s Web site, the “frightening job market is encouraging many college graduates to look abroad for work.” The article also states that “more students are inquiring about teaching overseas.” Two such students are seniors Ryan Sobotka and Luke Eaton.

Both are planning on going to South Korea for at least one year to teach English through an organization called Aclipse. According to the Web site, “Aclipse is dedicated to connecting enthusiastic college grads with the best teaching jobs in Asia,” and so far “has sourced, screened, and placed at least 10,000 teachers in TEFL jobs abroad.”

South Korea: IGSE to ‘Nurture’ Top Quality English Teachers

david — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:17:16 +0000

South Korea: I’m all for a bit of nurturing. The International Graduate School of English (IGSE), specializing in fostering English language experts, puts its priority on nurturing English teachers and experts who can communicate fluently in the language, declares the Korea Times.

IGSE President Park Nahm-sheik, pledged that his school will produce a small number of highly qualified English teachers, making them role models for their compatriots here.

Read on…

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South Korea: English ‘fever’ takes hold of pre-school education

david — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:54:08 +0000

South Korea: The Joongan daily notes how Art-One Society, an early-childhood education institute set up this March in Yangjae, southern Seoul, is representative of a trend sweeping Korea: exposing children to English as young as possible.

What distinguishes the institute from other English hagwon, or private institute in Korean, for pre-school kids is it pays particular attention to childhood development, claims its principal Lee In-sil. ‘Our priority is to balance English education with extra-curricular activities,’ she exclaimed.

Read on…

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Korean sports stars and their ‘flawless English’

david — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:25:35 +0000

South Korea: After winning the recent ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Kim Yu-na was praised for her fluent English in interviews with the international press. The Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim’s “English teacher” was her mother, Park Mi-hee (52), who made her daughter listen to English-language education tapes every day during her three- to four-hour drive to and from skating lessons.

What sports stars such as Park Ji-sung, Pak Se-ri, Choi Kyung-ju and Park Tae-hwan, who are all adept at English interviews, all have in common is not passionate mothers, but a sense of confidence that comes from reaching the pinnacle of their respective fields. It is here that we can find one of the secrets to learning English. Apparently.

Read the full story…

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Native English Speakers get Orientation on Local Korean Customs

david — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:11:51 +0000

South Korea: Almost 110 native English speakers have been participating in an intensive training session in Seoul since March 26th, designed to deepen their knowledge of Korean language and culture, notes the Korea Times. After completing the course Monday, they are to be dispatched to schools around the country to teach English starting this week.

They’re taking part in the English Program in Korea (EPIK), an initiative run by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology which invites qualified applicants to teach at public schools in 14 of the nation’s 16 provincial education offices. The goal of the program, hosted by the National Institute for International Education Development (NIIED), is to enhance the English proficiency of local students at all levels by upgrading the teaching skills of both new and experienced native English teachers.

Read the full story…

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English education Swedish style

david — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:46:04 +0000

Sweden and South Korea: ‘Today the English language level of the Swedish population is among the highest of all non-English-speaking countries in Europe. In Sweden we never imported English teachers from abroad,’ exlaims Ylva Olausson in the Korea Herald. ‘We never even considered it as an alternative. I believe the main reasons for this are on one hand that you can be very good at a language but still not good at teaching. It is very hard for me to understand why in Korea a lot of people with influence think that they can pick language teachers from the street and put them in the classroom, and it will work as long as the teachers speak native English.’

Read the full story…

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