Early English education bolsters speaking ability
Youngsters gather for a story telling session read by their teachers at an English institute in Seoul. / Korea Times
By Kim Hyun-bin
English kindergartens and daycare centers have long been saying that learning English at early ages effectively helps children communicate with native speakers later in their lives.
This is in contrast to the government’s claim that early English education is ineffective.
They also argue that early English education does not hinder young students from picking up their native language even if they learn English and other foreign languages at early ages.
One of the largest English institution franchises in the country says that there is a huge difference in a child’s linguistic level, if they start early and emphasized that their English skills are incomparable to a student who starts English later on.
The institution provides English classes taught by foreign teachers five hours a day.
“We have kindergarten students who study here for a few years and then go abroad.
Most of them did not have to take ESL courses there, which are classes provided for foreigners to catch up,” said the director of the institution. “They had no prior experience overseas, but had no problem communicating with teachers and classmates.”
The government is seeking to ban English in public daycares and kindergartens and a final decision is expected to be made next year.
If banned, many parents might consider sending their children to private institutions.
There are 474 private English institutions in the nation with 160 (34 percent) of them located in the capital, according to the ministry.
Private English institutes are preferred by parents as they believe they are the next best thing to studying abroad.
The government made it illegal for English institutes to label themselves as kindergartens; there are many that offer kindergarten-like curricula for children aged 3 to 6, before they start elementary school.
The problem is not the availability of English education, but the cost.
The lesson fees for 160 English kindergartens in Seoul average 797,000 won ($748) a month.
When adding in other expenses including meal costs and transportation, an average total of 1.6 million won is required for a child to attend private institutions in the capital, according to data released by the MOE.
Many parents are protesting the government’s plans to ban English classes in elementary schools and kindergartens, emphasizing the ban which cost around 30,000 won a month, only benefit private English institutions, as more parents will likely choose the institutions as the next best alternative.
“I have three children and the prices for their education are through the roof already. If the government bans English classes, I might have to teach them myself,” said Kim a women in her 40’s. ”Well off people are going to send their kids to private institutions anyway, this could lead to a greater gap in education between the rich and the poor.”
Recent surveys have shown that most parents would like the government to do more, not less, to support early English education.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) claims that learning a second language before the third grade is ineffective and that it causes too much stress for young children.
According to the MOE, some research provides evidence that young children need to learn their native tongue first or it could cause confusion and cause a great deal of stress.
The ministry also pushed to ban English for kindergarten and daycare centers, claiming it will become just a prerequisite for elementary school students, but the decision has been postponed due to strong protests from both parents and teachers.
The government initiative to ban early English education goes against scores of both local and international studies that have been conducted for the last few decades.
The studies highlighted the importance and effectiveness of learning a second language early on.
“ESL students learn much quicker, it’s human instinct to learn to survive, they need to learn how to communicate if they want to satisfy their basic human needs such as eating,” said Kil Roung-lee, a professor of English literature at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
However, the ministry stressed most of the studies conducted abroad focused on English as second language (ESL) students not English as a foreign language (EFL), which applies to local Korean children.
“Most of the foreign studies focused on ESL in which the atmosphere is totally different from EFL students, so it is difficult to apply the results of the study to local students,” said Kwon Ji-young, director of early childhood education at MOE.
EFL usually takes place in a foreign country with students from the same nationality, however ESL classes takes place in an English speaking country with students from all different backgrounds.