Learn English for Communication Purposes

Dear editor,

I would like to talk about English education in South Korea.

First of all, I feel bewildered about the new ideas suggested by the government. As we all know, the government set its priority on English education and planned to require all English teachers to speak only in English in class.

It seems that many people except English teachers agree with this policy. In fact, too many parents send their children at an early age to private language institutes where they can meet foreign teachers and take classes from experienced English teachers.

They don't seem to mind how much money they spend on English learning. And they expect their children to be fluent in English. But I doubt that all Korean children can achieve this. And, more importantly, I don't think that they need to.

Let's take a look at classes in Korea. How many students are studying English as a tool? People always say that English is a vehicle for them to express themselves and exchange their ideas.

I don't believe that they really think that. If a language is just a tool for them, why are they oversensitive about their test scores?

And why do many parents want to know if their child is better than others in English? The answer is simple. For most Koreans, English is not for communication, but for good universities and good jobs.

Before the government discusses how to force all English teachers to speak only in English, it has to stop national testing of English.

If students don't have any pressure to get higher marks from a national English test, then they will have real opportunities for learning English for communication purposes.

Baek Keon-woo

Mokcheon-eup, Cheonan

South Chungcheong Province