Jalt2010발표pp

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Kee-Ho Kim (Korea University)

JALT 2010 (2010 Nov. 20)

[email protected]

English Education in Korea: Early Exposure

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Private English education in Korea

Major changes in English education in Korea

Arguments for/against earlier English education

Major steps by Korean government

Contents

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Stress on English in Korea

Q. Why is English so important in Korea? English is one of the critical factors for the college entrance examination: CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test)

English is one of the key factors for a better job:

1st document review: TOEIC score

Job interview

Hot social issues in Korea

the high cost of private education

the negative cycle of education:

The poorer, the worse education, the poorer English, the poorer.

The richer, the better education, the better English, the richer.

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A hot social issue: the cost of private education

(2009 Korean government statistics)

% of students who are taking

private educationYearly Monthly

Elementary school 87.4% 2,945,000 W(218,000Y)

245,000 W(18,150Y)

middle school 74.3% 3,122,000 W (231,260Y)

262,600 W(19,450Y)

high school 53.8% 2,609,000 W(193,260Y)

217,000 W(16,070Y)

The cost of private education in Korea 22,000.000.000.000 won (22 trillion W) (1.6 trillion Yen) 8,000,000,000,000 won (30%): English education

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Similarities in private education between Korea & Japan

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Comparison between Korea & Japan

Similar situation both in Korea & Japan Highly competitive college entrance The high cost of private education

3 major changes in English education in Korea

The introduction of listening test to CSAT in 1994The introduction of English to elementary schools (from 3rd grade) in 1997The introduction of NEAT (IBT) (2009-2015)

Reading, listening, speaking & writing

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Q. What happened in English education in Korea over the last 20 years?

1994: the introduction of English to CSAT (college scholastic ability test)

Introduction of listening: Reading & Listening 1994: 50 total questions. (8 listening questions)

Listening: Practical English: time, place, job, purpose, etc. Listen to the following, choose the most appropriate one.• Where does this conversation occur?• What is the woman’s purpose in the talk? etc.

2012: 50 total questions (listening & speaking 17 Qs) / 70mins.

Result: improvement in listening skills

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[Phone rings.]

M: Hello?

W: John, why didn’t you pick up the phone? I kept calling you!

M: Sorry, I missed your calls. What’s up?

W: I wasn’t able to complete my part of our project.

M: What? It’s due at 5 p.m. There’s only half an hour left!

W: I know, but I couldn’t open the file you sent. The password didn’t work.

M: What’s the password you used?

W: It’s 013456, isn’t it? That’s what you wrote on the memo.

M: Oh, no! It’s not 01. It’s ol, ol3456.

W: What? I’ve been trying the wrong password until now! I totally lost my

patience.

M: I’m sorry. I should’ve told you it was a combination of letters and numbers.

W: It’s too late now. I won’t be able to finish by the deadline!

Q. Listen to the following conversation, and choose the most appropriate description of the woman’s feeling. (2010CSAT: Q2)

( 대화를 듣고 , 여자의 심정으로 가장 적절한 것을 고르시오 .)

① frustrated jealous indifferent satisfied grateful② ③ ④ ⑤

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Early English education in Korea 1982: Introduction of English as an extracurricular activity

(from 4th grade, 1 hour/w)

1997: Introduction of English in elementary schools

as a compulsory course (from 3rd grade). Goals:

to make students get interest & confidence in English &

to acquire basic communicative skills to understand &

to use English in daily life.

cf. Japan: 2011 from 5th grade (1 hour /w)

China: since 2004, from 3rd grade (3 hours/w)

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1997: English in elementary schools from 3rd grade.

(English class hours per week) 1997: 3rd - 6th graders: 2 hours/w

2001: 3rd - 4th graders: 1 hours/w,

5th - 6th graders: 2 hours/w

2010: 3rd - 4th graders: 2 hours/w (expanding 1 to 2 hours)

2011: 5th - 6th graders: 3 hours/w (expanding 2 to 3 hours/w)

cf. 2006: teaching English from 1st grade (50 experimental schools nation-wide)

(3-4 experimental schools for each province)

The on-going discussion for and against the introduction of early English education to lower graders

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Demonstration against the early English education

2006.5.23

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Arguments for earlier (1st & 2nd) English education

English as a lingua franca just like Latin of medieval times.

Lenneberg (1967)’s the Critical Period Hypothesis Before age 2, the brain has not developed enough, and after puberty it has

developed too much, with the loss of “plasticity” and the completion of “lateralization” of the language function.

Thomas Scovel (1969) suggested that the plasticity of the brain prior to puberty enables children to acquire not only their first language but also a second language.

Children never exposed to any language (spoken or signed) by about age 7 gradually lose their ability to master any language. the Wolf Boy, Djuma (found in the wastes of southern Russia in 1962) the Wild Boy of Aveyron, Victor (discovered in the French in 1800)

Phonological evidence:

Adults are capable of learning to communicate a foreign language.

However, foreign accent can’t be easily overcome.

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The Critical Period Hypothesis

100

90

80

70

60

50Native 3-7 8-10 11-15 17-39

Percentage correct ongrammar test

Age at arrival, in years

Learning a new language gets harder with age.

The older the age

at immigration,the poorer

the mastery of a second language.

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Arguments against earlier English education

Arguments against earlier (1st & 2nd) English education

L2 reverse interference to L1 acquisition Loss of self & national identity

Psycholinguistic perspective: L1 acquisition vs. L2 learning The acquisition of the communicative and functional purposes of language is, in

most circumstances, far more important than a perfect native accent.Obler (1981) noted that in second language learning, there is significant right

hemisphere participation and that "this participation is particularly active during the early stages of learning the second language".

Genesee (1982) & Seliger (1982) found support for right hemisphere involvement in the form of complex language processing as opposed to early language acquisition.

• Second language learners, particularly adult learners, might benefit from more encouragement of right-brain activity in the classroom context.

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Antipathy to earlier English education

Q. Is English education necessary for lower graders?

(Kim, J-R. 2008)

Background of antipathy to earlier English education:i) Issues of self & national identity,ii) teachers’ English competence,

iii) teachers’ resistance

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Q. Is early English education effective?

More than 10 years since 1997 (English from 3rd grade). Elementary school teachers’ perceptions: (Kwon et al 2006)

Improvement of 4 skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading & Writing)

<6th grade students> know 500 words. understand classroom English be able to speak in English (positive)

Kwon (2006):

Test year of1st & 2nd yearH-S students

Elementary English

education

# of schools # of students G TECAverage

score

Year of 2003 No experience

5 (the same) 4,043 414.5

Year of 2006 Experience 5 (the same) 4,019 459.6 (+ 45.1)

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Issues with English education

After 10 years of early English education: Merits: improvement of 4 skills of English

Demerits: widening the gap between the top group & the bottom group widening the gap between urban students (who had been given

relatively better English education) & rural students. Some left-behind students lose interest in English much earlier.

Social pressure: Negative cycle of English education & income:

The poorer, the poorer education, the poorer English, the poorer. The richer, the better education, the better English, the richer.

Succession of wealth and social class causes social frustration.

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Negative cycle of English education & income

The richer, the better education, the better English, the better job, the richer.

The poorer, the poorer education, the poorer English, the poorer incomer.

Q. How to break this negative cycle of English education?

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Major steps by Korean government

Three issues of English education in Korea How to reduce the cost of private education How to improve the quality of public schools’ English education How to reduce the gap between the poor & the rich, between rural

vs. urban areas in English education

Governmental projects for strengthening English education

1. Improve “public school English education”1. Expand English class hours in elementary schools

2. Introduce “specialist instructors” for English conversation

3. Introduce the “NEAT” (national English ability test) (IBT type)

2. Ways to improve the quality of English education1. Support the teachers’ teaching ability.

2. Provide special classrooms just for English

3. Provide fair opportunities for English education for everyone.

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Expanding English class hours

2010: 3rd - 4th graders: 2 hours/w (expanding 1 to 2 hours)

2011: 5th - 6th graders: 3 hours/w (expanding 2 to 3 hours/w)

(since 1997): goal: to arouse kids’ interest in EnglishIntroduction of lots of games, song, chanting, etc

(from 2010): strengthening reading & writing

Earlier introduction of reading & writing

3rd grader (from 9th unit): alphabet, phonics (reading & writing of words)

4th grader (from 1st unit – 13 units): teach to read English words and phrases

(from 14th unit - ): teach to read English sentences

5th – 6th graders unit 1: listening, unit 2: speaking, unit 3: reading, unit 4: writing,

unit 5: storytelling

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Building advanced curriculum & textbooks

Teachers’ CD Rom(4th grade)

(digital textbook)

Look & Listen:(click)

Animation &Native speaker’s voice

Listen & Repeat:(click)Video

Use of lots of animation,songs, puzzles, games,

etc. (multimedia)

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Specialists for English conversation

Introducing specialists for English conversation.

Elementary School: Since 2009, specialists teach after-school English classes. From 2010, they teach regular school classes.

Middle & High Schools: Students can choose to attend English classes fit for their levels. (3 levels of English classes)

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National English Ability Test (IBT)

IBT(Internet-based test)

Test of 4 English skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking & Writing

3 levels: Level I: for adults including college students Level II: for high school graduates or undergraduate students; achievement standards similar to those of the CSAT Level III: focus on testing basic communication skills; achievement standards similar to those of the 10th grade

When? 2009: developing NEAT, preliminary test. 2010 – 2011: several model tests 2012: starting of the real tests (2016): replacing English of CSAT to Level II & III NEAT

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Intensifying support programs for teachers

Making infrastructure that can improve teachers’ ability

For current teachers: Providing language programs enhancing teachers’ teaching ability:

providing intensive English language programs (more than 600 hours/year) for English teachers since 2009. providing diverse custom-made language programs

For future teachers:

Intensifying English education programs in universities of education Evaluating elementary school teachers’ ability teaching in English for their teacher certification examination.

Elementary school teacher certification examination: English interview & evaluation of teaching in English

Middle school teacher certification examination:English essay, English interview, & evaluation of teaching in English.

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Providing special classrooms just for English

Provide special classrooms only for English to make English class more fun.

Every elementary school: at least one classroom by 2011.

English experiential classroom for elementary schools: Situational English experience Reading English fairy tales, stories Situational role-playing In 2008: 1,387 schools.

English classroom only for English for middle/high schools: Students can choose classes fit to their English level. On-line (video) English lectures/chatting In 2008: 2,539 schools.

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Expanding educational welfare

Provide fair opportunities for English education for everyone.

TaLK (Teach & Learn in Korea) program: (*****satisfaction) since September 2008. overseas Koreans, foreign university students 2010 fall: 5th English volunteer scholarship:

600 (240 USA, 59 Canada, 18 England, 15 New Zealand, …)

Remote Video-Camera Lectures for isolated areas such as islands: lecture & chatting with native English teachers through video-cam.

Free English camps during vacations: for rural, fishing & mountain village students for underprivileged urban students 2 or 3-week intensive English programs during vacations In 2008, more than 60,000 students participated.

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Expanding educational welfare

Provide fair opportunities for English education for everyone.

EBS English programs: diverse free English programs for teachers, students, & parents http://www.ebse.co.kr/ free English level test for students free teachers’ teaching materials Click parents’ corner

EBSe Access Program with British Council

British Council LearnEnglishKids program

for elementary school teachers of (3rd – 6th graders)

Flashcards, games, songs, stories for each unit

http://www.ebse.co.kr/ebs/britishcouncil.laf

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EBSEnglish http://www.ebse.co.kr/

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EBSe (Access Program) with British Council

• •

• Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 Unit 8• Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14 Unit 15 Unit 16

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Free on-line English education materials

British council on-line English materials:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en

BBC for children

(diverse English stories, songs, game, coloring activties with parents, etc.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/

PBS kids

(games, stories, video clips, activities with parents & teachers, etc.)

http://pbskids.org/lions/

Edunet (in Korean)

http://www.edunet4u.net/index.jsp Digital English teaching materials (in Korean)

http://de.edunet4u.net/digitalEnglish/index.jsp

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http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/

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http://pbskids.org/lions/

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Hot social issues in Korea the high cost of private English education the negative cycle of English education

Major changes in Korean English education In 1994, introduction of listening to KSAT In 1997, introduction of English in elementary schools In 2012, introduction of speaking & writing to NEAT

On-going arguments for/against earlier English education Major steps of Korean government

goal: to reduce the cost of private education & the gap between the rich and the poor. improve public school English education support teachers’ teaching abilities

Summary

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Tons of thanks for your attention!

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References

BBC teaching English website: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

EBEe (website) : http://www.ebse.co.kr/ebs/britishcouncil.lafEBEe (website) : http://www.ebse.co.kr/ebs/britishcouncil.laf

Genesee, F. (1982) “Experimental neuropsychological research on second language processing,” TESOL Quarterly 16: 315-22.

Kim, Jeong-ryeol. (2008) “Theoretical & practical discussions of early English education in Kim, Jeong-ryeol. (2008) “Theoretical & practical discussions of early English education in EFL context,” EFL context,”

Kwon, O. (2006) Seeking ways to activate elementary & secondary English education by analyzing 10 years achievements of elementary English education. Ministry of Education.

Kwon, O. et.al. (2006) Results of an Interview and Questionnaire Survey with Teachers ,” Results of an Interview and Questionnaire Survey with Teachers ,” The 4th Asia TEFL Conference The 4th Asia TEFL Conference , Fukuoka, , Fukuoka, August 18-20.August 18-20.

Lenneberg, E.H. (1967) Biological foundations of language. Wiley, New York.

Obler, L. (1981) “Right hemisphere participation in second language acquisition,”

Scovel, T. (1969). Foreign accents, language acquisition, and cerebral dominance. Language Learning, 19, (3 & 4), 245-253.

Seliger, H. (1982) "On the possible role of the right hemisphere in second language acquisition," TESOL Quarterly 16: 307-314.

Ministry of Education, Science & Technology. http://english.mest.go.kr/index.jspMinistry of Education, Science & Technology. http://english.mest.go.kr/index.jsp

Ministry of Education, Science & Technology. 2010. Ministry of Education, Science & Technology. 2010. Elementary English 3Elementary English 3..

http://www.english.go.kr/ (Korean English policy) (Korean English policy)