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The government will strengthen Korean language education for children of multicultural families to help them overcome difficulties caused by language barriers, the Ministry of Education announced, Tuesday.
The government will create and operate 40 Korean language courses in 33 cities and counties that have schools with more than 100 students with at least 30 percent of pupils coming from multicultural families.
The number of such schools stood at 71 as of last year. Among those, the number of pupils from multicultural families exceeded 50 percent of the student body at 16 schools.
These courses, which will be offered starting at the end of 2024, range from three months to one year in length.
The courses will be offered outside of schools in the form of commissioned education programs, the ministry said, noting that the measure is intended to lessen the burden on local schools and teachers.
“These courses will begin in cities and counties where many multicultural families live at the moment, and will be expanded to more regions afterward, if necessary,” an education ministry official said.
The measure is part of the ministry’s five-year plans to offer equal educational opportunities to an increasingly diversified student body at schools.
The ministry drew up the plans amid a consistent increase in the number of students from multicultural families.
Data tallied by the education ministry showed that the ratio of students from multicultural families in elementary, middle and high schools increased to 3.5 percent this year from 1.1 percent in 2014.
Such students have cited language as one of their biggest challenges in adjusting to Korean society, the ministry said.
Education Minister Lee Ju-ho speaks during a meeting at Government Complex in Seoul, Tuesday. During the meeting, the ministry finalized a five-year plan that includes strengthening Korean language education for students from multicultural families. Yonhap
Other plans include expanding programs where university students offer customized, one-on-one Korean language classes and counseling to students from multicultral families.
The number of local university students participating in such programs will increase to 8,000 in 2024 from 4,000 this year.
The government will also utilize around 220 lecturers specializing in multicultural family issues through the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will supply some 450 lecturers specializing in marriage counseling to multicultural couples.
Also, to help students with homework, the government will operate online Korean language courses powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The technology will offer the results of the analysis of learning levels as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each student.
The government will work with companies to create scholarships for students displaying outstanding bilingual skills. Such scholarships will be paid monthly until a student from multicultural families graduates from university.
About 200 institutions will be established by the end of 2024 to offer bilingual education and classes dedicated to the understanding of different cultures. All students can participate in those programs.
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