English Haunts Korea
By Hong Jin-woo
Global Student Reporter
The government's English immersion program designed to implement instruction for all subjects in Korean schools in English, became a hot potato when it was announced. As soon as the plan was released many people said it would have negative effects on education as a whole in Korea. Superficially, it seemed a radical but plausible project for the benefit of Korean education.
However, there was a backlash from teachers, students, civic groups and others concerned with education. Let's see what negative effects we will face if we introduce this program.
First of all, public education will be disrupted and eventually divided. The initial intent of the project was to upgrade public education with quality teachers and equipment. The reality of implementing the program, however, is not so rosy.
Only a few schools, which are specially designated for gifted students, are ready to take on the project. Most ordinary schools are still struggling with a lack of competent teachers and poor equipment. Then, what would be the next step? Will most affluent students go to private institutes, which provide high quality education with a high tuition fee? It will lead Korean education into an education-divide, which will be detrimental for the future of Korea.
Furthermore, we need to ask ourselves how many teachers are truly ready for the program. English teachers, as well as those in other subjects have not been educated to teach their subjects in English.
How can we train them to teach in English overnight? Of course, there are those who say that we can start training them now and it will be a just a matter of time. Is this true? The answer to this question is partly ``yes'' because we need to think about the money and efficiency of the project.
To what extent and how soon can it be done? It will take an astronomical sum of money and time to fully implement and stabilize this project.
Moreover, the current students are not prepared for this project. For example, we see that many students have a difficult time in English classes, which are not completely taught in English. Only a few talented students are capable of taking English-speaking classes, which require a lot of proficiency. Even English teachers are giving half Korean, half English lectures. It is therefore evident that there is still a long way to go before the new English immersion program can be adopted.
President Lee Myung-bak dropped this project for several reasons. He said that it is too early to adopt this unprecedented and controversial project. He admitted his mistake and vowed to take on English education in English as a first step. His remark was welcomed by people but still left something unresolved. It is necessary for the new government to listen to public opinion and step cautiously when they initiate a new project.