By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said it will increase the number of native English speaking teachers up to 480 in schools this year from 362 last year at elementary and secondary schools in Seoul.
``We will recruit 120 more foreign teachers after thorough screenings. The new teachers will be sent to underprivileged schools,'' said SMOE official Cho Chun-ok.
Despite the rise in foreign teachers, however, they are not enough, given more than 1,200 schools in the city. To make up for the shortfall, the office is considering using Koreans fluent in English.
Additionally, the education authority will open an English education institute in Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province in April and set up English-only classes at 22 schools. Also, it will select 344 students for English immersion programs.