Korean Government to Raise Spending for English Education in 2009
The government said Sunday it will expand the education budget to develop training programs for English teachers and recruit more native English-speaking teachers. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced Sunday that it will spend a total of 19.5 billion won ($15.9 million) next year, up 12.2 billion won from a year earlier, for English education programs at elementary and secondary schools. As reported by the Korea Times, more than half of English teachers in the country are opposing next year’s planned introduction of “Teaching English in English (TEE)’’ teachers. The government plans to recruit 23,000 TEE teachers, who will conduct classes only in English, over the next five years.