English in Korea: Its Growth and Maturation

Photo: Lunchtime in a 1970s girls’ high school: tin lunchboxes, coal briquette heater, school uniforms, and bobbed hair.

The teaching and learning of English is much different in Korea today than it was in the past, and therefore English use is much different also. In the last issue, we looked at changes in students, teachers, the classroom, and written English since the 1970s. Here we take a glimpse back at spoken English, and how English was taught and learnt, as well as the biggest problems still facing English education in Korea and its prospects for the future. What we see in this comparison with 40 years ago is a lot of growth and maturity.

Spoken English

The lost English speaker in Korea in need of directions has little difficulty today in finding help from a Korean. The English may not be polished, but communication can take place. The younger half of the population will likely be able to help more easily. This is because they began their formal public school English classes when they were in the third year of elementary school. Many attended private English classes, even earlier and throughout their middle and high school years in addition to university. Many of them probably had a native English-speaking instructor at some point in their language learning years. Regardless, comprehensible input can be easily found: English movies, English radio and TV stations, English TV programs, even English language church services, and an Internet full of all kinds of spoken English.

On the 1970s street, the same lost English speaker would have had much more difficulty getting help in English. Koreans were more inclined to avoid the English-speaker for fear of embarrassment at not being able to speak English adequately. At that time, English instruction began in middle school, while only elementary school education was mandatory. Many could not afford to go on to middle school, high school, and university. English language schools were few, and those with native English-speaking teachers were rare. (The only one in Gwangju was the Seventh Day Adventist English Institute.) Other reasons for the lower quality of spoken English among the Korean populace were less availability of quality language learning materials, less effective teaching methods, less-well-trained instructors, few opportunities to practice English speaking, and the inability to travel abroad.

Teaching Methodology

English teaching in Korea is highly test-driven, particularly at the high school and tertiary levels with the high-stakes college entrance exam and TOEIC test determining students’ futures. Test-driven instruction is typically teacher-centered and memorization-heavy. Communicative and student-centered approaches take a back seat; however, they are not unheard of. Communicative approaches with student interaction are increasing with younger, lower-level students and in programs at all levels with courses taught by NESTs. Many classrooms are now high-tech, with Internet access and PowerPoint capabilities. Their easy accessibility to a wide range of instructional tools and materials is affecting change in classroom EFL methodology. The Korea of the 1970s was very much test-driven as well. Instruction was teacher-centered and students were expected to memorize huge amounts of grammar rules and lexical items. The grammar-translation method was quite healthy, but the audio-lingual method was also making inroads. High schools and universities were setting up expensive, well-equipped listening labs stocked with cue-response drill tapes for the students to practice. However, the high school labs became unused exhibits of the modernity of the school’s English program, being frequented more by the visitor than by the student.

Student Learning

Today’s student has a wide range of English learning opportunities available. Public school classes for English begin in Grade 3 of elementary school (possibly Grade 1 very soon) and continue through high school. There are after-school classes for elementary school students and supplementary classes for secondary school students. English is taught in kindergarten and pre-school, and there are language institute programs available for all levels. Television provides movies and series of all types, as well as English learning programs, as does the Internet. And many families opt to send their children abroad for some type of English schooling or training. The 1970s’ options were much more limited. English classes only started in middle school, but the week was 5.5 days long (a half day on Saturdays). There were once-a-week special activities clubs in elementary school, of which one was English, but very few other learning opportunities or materials were available. There were no TV programs in English or for English learning, and there was no Internet. One could not even use a short-wave (SW) radio to listen to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or Voice of America (VOA) because SW radios were illegal to own – for national security concerns. It was only the very lucky student who had a tape recorder and English tapes to use with it.

Biggest Problems

What has long been, and still remains, one of the biggest obstacles to learning English for the Korean learner is the lack of confidence in using the language, due to the reliance on memorization rather than on practice. Another problem is the student work ethic: many learners are unwilling to invest the time and effort that is required to learn a foreign language and are in an eternal search for an easy way to learn English. Many students are not aware of effective learning strategies or of how to be an effective autonomous learner, relying on memorization rather that skills practice. The biggest problems for the teaching of English in Korea include the college entrance examination. As long as the English portion of this exam focuses on grammar and vocabulary, English skills will be ignored in secondary school. Another serious problem is administrators and policymakers. The people making the critical decisions concerning English language planning are often individuals with little or no background in ELT, SLA, or applied linguistics. The influence of parents on policymakers and administrators is often stronger than that of language teachers and specialists, and the private language school rather than the public school often seems to be the primary source of English education.

Prospects

Despite the challenges that English education continues to face, there has been a continuous increase in the need for English proficiency among Koreans and a continuous increase in the English proficiency of the general populace. The variety and number of jobs requiring a high proficiency in English skills is also expected to increase. As long as the need for English skills remains high, the trend of increased proficiency is expected to continue. The improvements in instructors’ language skills and teaching skills are expected to lead to increased levels in learner proficiency. As instructors’ proficiencies increase, the need for NESTs in teaching language learners is expected to gradually decrease, while the usefulness of qualified NESTs as teacher trainers will be realized.

What changes can we expect to take place in the next 40 years? With the rapid advances in technology, we can expect the next four decades to witness advances in English teaching, learning, and use to occur at an accelerated rate. In addition to improved teaching materials, technological advances in delivery systems will greatly increase the speed and efficiency with which English can and will be acquired.

Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL May Chapter Events

Mokpo Outreach Workshop

Date & Time: May 11 (Saturday) 1:30 p.m.

Place: Mokpo National University

Five ELT Presentations

Monthly Chapter Meeting

Date & Time: May 18 (Saturday), 1:30 p.m.

Place: Chosun University, Main Building, Left Wing

Featured Workshops

• It’s All in the Technique: Giving Instructions in the EFL Classroom (Catherine Peck: Chonnam Natl. University)
• Ten Tech Tools Every Teacher Should Know About (Lindsay Herron: Gwangju Natl. University of Ed.)

Swap-Shop: Share your teaching ideas and activities.

Admission:  No Charge

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