Private lessons to be a liability for entry into Foreign Language High Schools
As reported in the Joongang Daily today, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has announced that applicants to foreign language high schools who say they received private education or tutoring will be disadvantaged. This is the Ministry’s latest effort to address concerns that changes in the foreign language high school’s admission process will further overheat the private education market. The Ministry had earlier announced that foreign language high schools would introduce an admission process that emphasized “self-study” in 2011.
Admissions officers will measure “self study” in various ways, including interviews, examination of study plans and letters of recommendation. English listening tests, written exams and interviews asking about applicant’s knowledge of specific subjects will be banned. The Ministry also said that applicants who report their scores for foreign language aptitude tests, such as TOEFL, will lose points.