|
 By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Amid the economic downturn, Korean parents with school-aged children are in a tug of war, fighting to secure the budget for their children's education, especially English education.
Phone English has begun to emerge at the surface as an alternative for them that is affordable and provides the quality that parents expect.
Lee Kyung-soon, 46, has one son and one daughter, both in middle school. After some serious thought, she had her son Min-ki enroll in phone English last month.
``In a financial crisis like this, getting him a private English tutor or making a similar scenario for him has become a financial burden,'' Lee said.
With that, her son stopped going to a group English-speaking lesson with a native speaker that had cost her hundreds of thousand won.
About three weeks into the program now, she is pleased with the alternative.
``It was a wise decision,'' she told The Korea Times.
Listening to him talk over the phone in English, she gets her own relief and satisfaction, she said.
Soaring Private Education Bill
In Lee's family, one third of her domestic income is solely allocated to the children's education.
For her ninth-grade son, she spends over 700,000 won per month; and for seventh-grade daughter Ji-min, nearly 500,000 won. Money spent on English lesson excels other subjects.
Spending has increased with the children getting older.
She said that although the economy's down, ``I am hesitant to downsize the budget for private education,'' because her children could become less competitive.
Her worry isn't at all groundless. According to the most recent surveys, the effect of the recent economic crisis has only increased domestic spending on after-school education.
The number of students who seek overseas education has decreased, as has the amount of money wired abroad to pay for children's education there.
According to the National Statistical Office, the year 2008 saw an increase in private education spending by 860 billion won, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous year. The average cost of monthly private education per student also rose five percent to 235,000 won.
The office said the survey shows a polarization between low-income and high-income families. The latter, earning 7 million won or more monthly, spent 470,000 won per month for children's private education last year, whereas low-income families with 1 million or less spend only 50,000 won.
Phone English
Phone English is an old serviced that has existed for quite a long time. Yet it wasn't until quite recently that it became the preferred choice for ordinary households as a method of children's English language education.
A mediating agency arranges native English teachers with students, and the latter call students at a designated time of day. Teachers include Americans, British nationals, Australians, New Zealanders and Filipinos who don't speak any Korean at all.
Moon Young-ho, marketing manager of Times Call, said the market for phone English has grown significantly in recent years, especially after President Lee Myung-bak was sworn in in early 2008.
``Phone English is traditionally well received during times of economic difficulty thanks to its affordability,'' he explained.
The size of the phone-English market in Korea is difficult to accurately measure, he says. Yet, recalling his four-year experience in the field, he can say for certain that the market is expanding at tremendous speed.
``If you type in ``phone English'' at naver.com, you get at least 300 entries,'' Moon said, referring to his own market research.
It isn't just traditional English brand names that are expanding their share. New investors have joined the competition, he said.
The selling points of phone English are direct engagement between students and teachers, along with affordability.
``Parents get quite enthusiastic about it. It's cheaper than sending the kids to hagwon, private after-school institutes, yet the quality is the same or better because the teacher is directly engaged with the children," Moon said.
``Furthermore, since the session takes place at home, parents can see their children perform. They may also be briefed about their children's performance by the call center's headquarters,'' he said.
Times Call charges average 120,000 won per month for 10-minute daily phone calls.
Challenges
Because the teachers remain only in contact by his/her voice, controlling the quality of teachers is tricky, but Moon said both teachers and students follow a predetermined curriculum.
The only thing he made sure of was the location of the teachers.
``For us, teachers calling from their home countries ― the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines ― are very important. And customers don't want ethnic Koreans as teachers, so we make sure that we don't hire Korean-Americans or Korea-Australian teachers.''
Most callers use free Internet phone service instead of landlines or mobile phones, and students have to suffer from interruptions and disconnections, which Lee complained about.
``It's only 10 minutes of talking. Yet, Min-ki can't hear her talk sometimes, or the line gets disconnected.''
Her mission to find an alternative for her children continues, yet it isn't easy.
``How about abolishing all hagwon? If there were no private institutes to go to, students would return to public education, wouldn't they? I'd be more content with my kids receiving only public education."
skim@koreatimes.co.kr
|
