High school students shun German, French, Spanish

By Lee Hyo-sik

Most high schools in Seoul teach Chinese or Japanese, or both, as a second foreign language, shying away from other more exotic languages, as fluency in either of the two Asian languages could be more helpful to students in finding a job.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday that 196 Seoul high schools out of 222, or 88.3 percent, currently offer a Chinese language course for 11th graders in the ongoing spring semester.

In 176 schools, or 79.3 percent, students can learn Japanese, while those studying at 169 schools are able to choose either Chinese or Japanese.

In contrast, only 41 high schools, or 18.5 percent, teach French as a second foreign language. German and Spanish are taught in 27 and six schools, respectively, with no schools offering Russian or Arabic language courses.

Teachers say that schools opt to teach students Chinese or Japanese because they are easier since all three use similar Chinese characters.

They also say Korean companies prefer to hire those fluent in Chinese or Japanese due to the nation’s growing business ties with the world’s second and third largest economies.

An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education echoed teachers’ views, saying students these days are eager to learn Chinese, with more domestic firms making inroads into the world’s fastest growing economy.

“If you are able to speak Chinese, it will definitely help you find a job. In the past, many students used to learn French or German. But these days, that is not the case,” the official said.

He also expressed concerns that the country’s foreign language education system leans too much toward English, Chinese and Japanese, stressing the government should encourage schools to teach other widely-spoken tongues, such as Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Hindi, as Korea establishes closer political and economic relations with countries speaking these languages.

Meanwhile, the number of high school students choosing to study a foreign language fell sharply in 2010, compared to a year ago, when it no longer became mandatory.

According to data released by the state-run Korean Educational Development Institute, students learning a second foreign language totaled 596,044 as of April 2010, down 120,939, or 16.8 percent, from a year earlier. The number of second foreign language classes at high schools nationwide also fell 11.2 percent to 18,554.

The dive in popularity for a second foreign language came after the government adjusted high school curricula in 2009 to put more emphasis on the study of English, Korean language and math. Learning a second foreign language was compulsory until 2009.

By language, the number of students who chose German as a second foreign language marked the steepest fall at 26.9 percent, from 29,881 to 21,841, the data showed. Students of Spanish fell 25.4 percent, followed by French (18.6 percent), Japanese (17.5 percent), Chinese (13.3 percent) and Russian (5.6 percent).

서울 시내 고등학교 제 2외국어로 독일어 프랑스어 스페인어 외면

서울 시내 고등학교에서 이뤄지는 제2외국어 수업이 앞으로 취업에 쓸모가 많다는 생각에 일본어와 중국어에 지나치게 쏠려 있는 것으로 나타났다.

8일 서울시교육청의 올해 고교 선택과목 편성 현황 자료에 따르면 시내 일반계 고교 222곳 중 2학년 과정에서 제2외국어로 일본어와 중국어 수업을 개설한 곳은 각각 196곳(88.3%)과 176곳(79.3%)에 달했다.

대부분 고교는 2학년 때 본격적으로 제2외국어를 가르치기 시작한다.

일본어와 중국어 수업을 모두 제공하는 학교는 169곳(76.1%)에 이르렀다.

반면 독일어와 프랑스어 수업을 편성한 고교는 27곳(12.2%)과 41곳(18.5%)에 그쳤고 스페인어를 배울 수 있는 학교는 6곳(2.7%)에 불과했다. 러시아어와 아랍어는 수업이 개설된 곳이 아예 없었다.