NIIED programs to boost national image

Chung Sang-ki, president of NIIED, says he will do his utmost to keep TaLK and all the other programs run by the institute on growth track in order to polish the national image abroad. / Courtesy of NIIED

‘Teach and Learn in Korea’ takes firm root in rural areas; TOPIK sees growing demand abroad

By Cho Jae-hyon

Whenever he has the chance to make a speech in foreign countries, Chung Sang-ki, president of the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), found that the people who applaud most vigorously are those who have connections with Korea somehow.

Among those groups who clap most heartily to his “humble” speech are war veterans who fought for South Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953), taekwondo practitioners and those who once lived in Korea, he said.

Chung wants to make participants in the “Teach and Learn in Korea” (TaLK) program another group of fans. Under the scholarship program, thousands of undergraduate students — ethnic Korean residents or native English speakers — have already taught English at elementary schools in rural areas since 2008.

“More than 2,000 students have taught at elementary students in rural areas over the last three years. Most TaLK program participants, when returning home, say they cultivated leadership qualities and felt proud of their achievements,” Chung said in an interview. “These students are great human assets for Korea. To maintain and strengthen the bond between students, we have helped them form an association of alumni.”

He said not only student teachers but also teachers and students in provincial schools are happy with the program. The number of TaLK student teachers has steadily increased and about 600 are currently teaching after-hour classes at schools in rural areas.

Despite the rise in the number of TaLK teachers, many schools in farming and fisheries villages are not benefiting from the program.

Chung said his institute is expanding partnerships with universities and educational institutes in other countries to invite more of them to the program.

“We’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with 14 universities and an educational institute in the U.S. Under the partnership, these schools are actively selecting students for the TaLK program,” Chung said.

At the end of April, Chung visited the U.S. and signed an MoU with the Institute of International Education. Chung says his agency will continue to sign and broaden partnerships with international universities to recruit more top-rated students.

TOPIK

The NIIED, a unit under the Ministry of Education, Technology and Science, undertakes three main tasks — the education of ethnic Koreans abroad, the selection of beneficiaries of state scholarships among foreign students, and running programs for the promotion of English education at public schools.

The institute is also in charge of managing and overseeing the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). Chung, a former career diplomat who took the helm of the NIIED in 2009, said the test is drawing greater attention from a growing number of students and people from around the world.

To boost the efficacy of the test and make it friendlier to applicants, Chung plans to press ahead with a two-pronged policy.

First, the institute seeks to sign agreements with Korean companies based in China, Vietnam and other Asian nations to encourage them to give additional points to applicants with higher TOPIK scores when recruiting.

Secondly, it plans to include a speaking section in the test in the near future as many applicants in Africa and the Middle East show a higher proficiency in speaking despite relatively low scores in the writing section.

Chung also said the institute is considering separating the test into two — one for students and the other for non-students.

“We are considering diverse measures to tailor the test to better serve the needs of applicants. At the same time, we will continue to raise the number of countries where the test can be taken,” he said.

Native English teachers

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has recently cut the number of native English teachers at primary and secondary schools, citing a reduced budget for the program.

However, the overall number of teachers hired under the English Program in Korea (EPIK) won’t fluctuate widely for a while, Chung said. EPIK is also one of main programs run by the NIIED.

“We are going to hire 1,040 new teachers under EPIK program by the end of June. We’ve selected between 1,800-2,000 native English teachers annually and the number won’t change much from those levels,” he said.

Chung said the EPIK program will continue to play a pivotal role in recruiting high-quality teachers.

“Native English teachers have made a great contribution to upgrading English education at public schools across the nation. We need to run EPIK program continuously as we need them,” Chung said.

The institute plans to strengthen its on-the-job training for native English teachers to settle more smoothly here, providing them with chances to learn about Korean culture and other basic education background here.

“I think we need to make efforts to help them better understand unique Korean culture and education system before they were dispatched to each school,” Chung said, adding that online orientation is also available.

Global Korean Scholarship

Korean universities have attracted more and more students from other countries but the overall quality of these students has not shown any marked improvement in spite of quantitative growth.

Chung believes the state-run scholarship program called the Global Korean Scholarship (GKS) will provide leverage for universities to draw top-rated students not only from Asian nations but American and European countries.

“We need to expand this scholarship program to attract more top-notch students. We’ve attracted many Asian students and are now seeking to attract more students from Europe,” Chung said.

Students, selected under the GKS program, are entitled to a four-year full scholarship. The number of GKS beneficiaries fell to 400 this year from 700 the previous year due to budget cuts. However, the number of beneficiaries is expected to return to the latter level next year.

Chung said most programs run by the NIIED are closely related with boosting the nation’s brand image, adding that its programs need greater international publicity.

“Education is an important vehicle we can use to boost our national brand. TaLK, EPIK, TOPIK, all these programs are important projects to upgrade Korea’s image. I will do my utmost to expand and broaden our programs further and widely to provide more benefits to a larger number of people both at home and abroad,” he said.