English-Only Classes

President-elect's Immersion Drive Sparks Debate

A fresh debate has erupted over President-elect Lee Myung-bak's drive for English-immersion education for secondary schools. Korean teachers of English, parents and scholars are divided over the plan calling for classes to be conducted in English. The debate began immediately after the Presidential Transition Committee announced Thursday that all English classes in high schools will be given in English from 2010.

Under the plan, high school teachers will be also required to give a few classes, including science and math, in English. Obviously, such measures reflect Lee's strong will to help students significantly improve their English proficiency in an era of globalization. In reality, high school graduates lack English-speaking skills even though they have learned English for six years in school. The problem can be attributed to the education environment focusing too much on taking college entrance exams.

Proponents of the policy argue that such proposals are somewhat belated considering the fact that a growing number of elementary, middle and high school students go abroad to learn English and get better education. Lee said that the incoming government's goals are primarily aimed at normalizing school education to ease parents' financial burdens on private English tutoring for their children.

However, opponents claim that the English-immersion formula is still too early to be implemented in the country. Representatives of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations said during a meeting with Lee on Friday that it is difficult to introduce the English-immersion plan due to lack of both teaching and learning capacities. In short, teachers are not ready to give classes in English, while students are not ready to attend immersion classes. They even pointed out that teachers will have to take private English lessons first to prepare themselves for the English-only classes.

Lee should pay attention to a survey of 910 teachers conducted by the federation on Jan. 18-25. About 60 percent of the respondents said they oppose the immersion drive, while only 16.6 percent are in favor of it. According to a previous study, only 50 percent of teachers are able to lecture in English. Critics even claim the percentage is actually much lower than that.

Besides, the English immersion plan will require a large amount of the state's budget. The injection of huge spending may only lead to a waste of taxpayers' money if the policy is put into action without proper preparation. There are also lots of problems to be tackled in advance. Schools will have to recruit a large number of English-speaking teaching assistants, reduce the student numbers in each classroom, set out proper curriculum, develop teaching methodologies, and print new textbooks.

Parents are also worried that the new policy might have the adverse effect of forcing students to resort more to private tutoring to excel over others in English-only classes. Therefore, Lee and his policymakers had better take gradual steps. They have to keep in mind that English-immersion education is easier said than done.