ef Lee Cheerleading English-Friendly Korea
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook of the presidential transition team has spread the gospel of an English-friendly Korea nationwide since she accepted the job last month.
Recently, Lee is learning that she needs to make the public's voice regarding English education policy heard, as they are core stakeholders in the policy reform.
``It will be hard for the transition team to garner support for the English education reform plan from the public as long as the plan fails to win them over,'' Lee said on Tuesday.
She said the team should convince the public to understand the ultimate goal and expected benefits they would receive once the plan is set in place.
Her remarks came after severe backlash from school teachers and some parents caused the team to de facto withdraw its plan to conduct non-language courses in English in high schools.
Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman of the team, clarified Monday the new government will not seek the English immersion program in non-English courses.
Despite the trial and error, the chairwoman has consistently taken the role of being a cheerleader of the new government's English educational reform.
Those who are familiar with her proactive leadership style said Lee was a strong advocate of foreign language education, as she has transformed her alma mater, Sookmyung Women's University as president, mainly through a globalization strategy.
Lee has served as president of the university since 1994.
She introduced the Teaching of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program to the university in 1997, a first for domestic universities.
Lee raised nearly 100 billion won in 2006, fulfilling one of her presidency pledges.
Under her leadership, 21 buildings were added to the campus, which is now three times larger than before, according to sources at the university.
Her humble goal is to upgrade English education to a level where ``high school graduates can communicate with foreigners in English without difficulties.''
Lee's humble but clear goal seemed to help her endure mounting skepticism toward the proposed plan to reform English education.
Since the transition team unveiled its education reform strategy last week, there has been heated debate on the proactive English policy.
But the effectiveness of leading English-only classes in schools was called into question due to shortages of proficient English-speaking teachers.
The chairwoman, however, has not shown any signs of stepping back.
``Many people are sharing the view that they would save a lot of money once public education offers proper English language programs,'' she said.
``The new government would place a top policy priority on improving students' English skills in the coming five years of Lee's presidency.''
She made it clear that the plan was not contrived in weeks, adding that the program came out of decades of research and experience.