Park Chang-seok, English media professor at Kyung Hee University and the chairman for the English Newspaper in Education Society of Korea (ENIES), presides over the association’s inaugural meeting in Seoul, Wednesday. The new educational group, with support from more 100 prominent academics and journalists, will offer English newspaper-based resources for use in public school English classes. / Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
 By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
A professor said Wednesday that President Lee Myung-bak's initiative to promote wider use of practical English is a step in the right direction but it lacked specifics in achieving that goal.
Myongji University Professor Ahn Young-sup made this point in a seminar Wednesday to celebrate the launch of the English Newspapers in Education Society of Korea (ENIES) at the Kwanhun Club for senior journalists in Seoul.
``The Lee administration had spoken about reforming the English education curriculum and putting more emphasis on teaching practical English,'' Ahn said during his speech. ``The President's initiative put the emphasis on practical English.''
But, he added, the move lacked specific steps to achieve that goal. ``With the launch of this new educational association,'' he said. ``The Lee administration could consider using English newspaper-based teaching guides as part of his initiative to embrace a practical-English curriculum.''
Ahn listed several advantages offered by incorporating English-language newspapers as part of an effective teaching process.
First, he noted, ``Today's English-language newspapers use the latest English expressions that may be vital in understanding modern society, including the latest developments in science, economics, politics, entertainment and lifestyle trends.''
Ahn added that English-language news stories are concise and well structured, following a logical pattern. ``Using newspaper-based resources can help students develop logical, critical writing skills.''
He said helping students build logical writing skills in English could go a long way in achieving ``genuine, practical'' English-language proficiency, as opposed to mastering multiple-choice English exams.
Ahn pointed out that Korea has become the single biggest market for the U.S. educational testing company Educational Testing Service (ETS). Last year alone, more than 120,000 Koreans took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a figure higher than any other country in the world. And millions more have been taking the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), also offered by ETS. TOEIC has become an exam whose score is often used as a barometer for applicants' English proficiency when applying for corporate jobs in Korea.
But acing these tests by no means demonstrates one's true competency in the language, Ahn observed. ``There is a common expression in Korea, `A perfect TOEIC scorer who doesn't understand English'," he said. ``As educators we need to put more emphasis on genuine English proficiency.''
Korea University Professor Kim Hyung-yeop also observed that leading media outlets around the world use the English language to transmit news. ``In today's global age, English is the language of choice for mass media,'' he stated, emphasizing the importance of writing as part of schools' English-language curriculum. ENIES could assist students develop writing skills, he said.
The association was launched with support from more than 100 prominent English language and media professors, teachers and journalists.
The society will be headquartered at Korea University and will offer newspaper-oriented teaching materials to public schools as well as private and government institutions.
A veritable who's who in the world of English education in the country attended the ENIES inaugural meeting. Park Chang-seok, English media professor at Kyung Hee University and former managing editor of The Korea Times, will serve as the association chairman.
Other founding members of the group included Kim and Ahn, and from the journalism field Korea Times President-Publisher Park Moo-jong, Korea Times Managing Editor Lee Chang-sup and Korea Herald Managing Editor Yu Kun-ha.
Professor Park, who has more than 30 years' experience working as a reporter and editor, spoke about how developing English writing skills could help boost language proficiency for students.
``ENIES, by using innovative English newspaper-based resources, could help students develop their writing skills,'' Park said in his keynote speech.
These newspaper-oriented lessons, he explained, could include asking students to write headlines and summaries for news stories.
The association, Park added, will work on distributing teaching guides on how to utilize English-language newspapers in schools. The group also plans to sponsor a lecture series, seminars and English writing and reporting competitions for school students.
michaelha@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
