Asian English Teachers
Dear editor,
In response to the article dated Jan. 17 entitled ``Seoul Schools May Hire Asian English Teachers,'' I wholeheartedly endorse the sentiments.
I am an American, employed at an English institute and am presently pursuing my Master's degree in English education. For those of us have had the benefit of post-graduate English education, we fully understand the requirements of a good second language teacher.
Being a native speaker has its advantages, but being a soundly-trained second language teacher is more important.
Unfortunately in South Korea some parents and people in English education seem to subscribe to the principle that heritage, and to some extent one's color, is a prerequisite to being a good second language teacher.
In the United States there are many English teachers who are non-native speakers. The predominant factor is training, education and the ability to teach.
It is refreshing to see an educator of the older generation with such modern thinking as Kong Jeong-taek. It only goes to show that age, country, or race is no barrier to the dispensation of wisdom. Therefore I think immigration laws barring non-native speakers from obtaining E-2 visas should be amended.
On another subject related to English teachers, I think another problem that must be addressed is the work done by native speakers within middle and high schools. To the best of my knowledge, most native speakers are under-utilized within the school system.
The fact is, within most schools systems of approximately 1,500 students, 45 of those students per class meet the native speaker for approximately 50 minutes per week.
This approach can hardly create a dent in the need to improve Korean students' English speaking ability. Also, native speakers are hardly involved in the areas of testing.
The number of native speakers should be increased and they should be actively involved in teaching and testing in the areas of writing and speaking which is almost never done sincerely.
Alton Rose
Incheon