By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Assistant English teachers recruited under the ``Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK)’program, started Monday to teach elementary school students in rural areas. The program, introduced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology last April, aims to increase opportunities for students in the provinces to learn English from native English speakers.
For this, the ministry recruited last July a total of 380 native English speakers from five countries ㅡ the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. They mainly consist of ethnic Koreans from the countries who completed teacher-training programs last month and were sent to the underprivileged elementary schools across the country.
The foreign teachers will team up with local college students during after-school programs, helping students improve their English-speaking skills. They are scheduled to stay for six months or one year in coordination with 13 regional offices of education across the nation.
They will have opportunities to learn Korean language, culture and history through various programs. The National Institute for International Education under the ministry will assist and oversee the assistant English teachers.
Among the assistant teachers, 245 hold American citizenships, 69 are from Canada, 22 from Australia, 12 from New Zealand and five from the U.K. Some 300 are undergraduate students and the rest are university graduates. Of the TaLK participants, 314 are under 25 years old.
TaLK participants will receive benefits such as round-trip airfare and allowances of about 1.5 million won ($ 1,500) per month as well as a monthly accommodation allowance of 400,000 won.