 A foreign English teacher teaches at an elementary school in Seoul. Most parents believe foreign teachers are most needed in elementary schools. / Korea Times file photo |
By Yun Suh-young
The majority of Korean parents think foreign English teachers are needed in schools despite the government’s move to gradually reduce their number, a survey showed.
According to the study organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 62.4 percent of parents replied that native English teachers are necessary at local elementary, middle and high schools.
A research institute at the Seoul National University conducted the survey of 43,742 people — 28,761 students, 11,980 parents, 2,406 English teachers, and 595 foreign teachers from 1,282 elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul.
“The satisfaction rate of students regarding foreign English teachers was high throughout elementary, middle and high schools and especially high in elementary schools,” said an official from the education office.
When asked whether foreign English teachers were needed in schools, more than 62 percent of the surveyed parents answered “they are definitely needed,” as they help improve students’ communication skills and reduce fear of foreigners.
More than half of them also answered that foreign English teachers’ placement at local schools was effective and 67.7 percent said they were mostly needed in elementary schools.
Korean teachers were also positive about foreigners’ role as assistant English teachers. Most of the respondents said foreign teachers were most effective for areas such as speaking, listening and pronunciation.
However, the respondents limited the effectiveness of foreign teachers to academically well-performing students such as those in the high ranking (46.2 percent) or the top level (30.6 percent) categories.
Most of them also preferred the placement of native English teachers at only elementary and middle schools.
More than 81 percent of foreign English teachers replied that they believe students are satisfied with their classes. About 90 percent of foreign teachers also said they are making a contribution to improving students’ English proficiency.
Students favor Korean teachers
Students, however, tended to prefer Korean English teachers.
About 53.7 percent said the most effective type of teachers was “Korean teachers who had excellent English communication skills and taught well.” Only 29.7 percent answered positively about native English teachers. This was attributable to the low interaction between students and teachers and the difficulty in understanding the foreign educators.
About 69.4 percent of students in the lower ranking category said they did not participate in classroom activities when a foreign teacher taught.
On the contrary, 81.3 percent of students answered they participated in English classes taught by Korean teachers. Many of the students said Korean teachers use Korean when necessary.
“I had a class taught by a native teacher in middle school but I don’t think the teacher was very helpful. Personally, I think Korean teachers are more helpful in preparing for exams,” said Chung Yoon-sik, a high school senior at Choong Ang High School.
The majority of parents (62.2 percent) also answered that the ideal type of English teachers at schools are “Koreans who are proficient in English communication skills and good at teaching.”
“In the long run, we need more Korean teachers who are well-trained and have excellent English skills. We need to improve the English capacity and quality of our Korean teachers to meet the demands of students and parents,” an official from the education office said.
A parent of a high school student who used to run a private English institute said, “I think foreign teachers are good for students to get used to foreigners and learn their culture but they’re not that helpful to beginners because they don’t understand well. Learning for one or two hours a week isn’t too helpful for these students. The best case scenario is increasing the number of Korean teachers who are proficient in spoken English so that they can guide these students.”
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