The Korea Times published an editorial that provides interesting background on the issues raised by the announced plan for Seoul to establish two international middle schools. This was the subject of an earlier post. For those of you interested, this editorial helps to frame the issue more completely.
As reported in the Joongang Ilbo, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has announced a plan to establish two international middle schools in the capital city, each of which will accept 160 freshmen beginning next March. Each school will accept 160 first-year students who will be divided into five classes. The annual tuition will be set at 4.8 million won ($4,574) or less, a measure partly aimed at quelling criticism that the new schools will be affordable only for children from rich families. But first-year students also have to pay an additional 700,000 won as an entrance fee. The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union held a press conference in front of the education office yesterday to protest the decision.
“The change would put enormous burden on elementary school students and increase the financial burden on parents, eventually devastating the elementary education system,” said the union in a statement.
In the first half of 2008, Korean expenditures on education and language training abroad fell by the biggest margin since the 1997 financial crisis. According to a Bank of Korea report on the balance of international payments released Sunday, Koreans spent US$2.256 billion on overseas training in the first half of 2008, down 5.8 percent, or $138 million year on year.
According to an article in the Chosun Ilbo, the falling figures are due primarily to worsening financial conditions, including a weaker local currency and a slowing economy, although some attribute this phenomenon to Koreans’ reduced preference for overseas studying and language training. Some analysts have suggested that the phenomenon of sending children overseas at younger and younger ages has peaked. For further detail, read the full article.
The Korean governments new TALK (Teach and Learn in Korea) initiative has begun with the arrival of the first cohort of teachers. For details on the TALK program, see its website.
Fulbright Korea’s own ETA grant program has provided a model for other English teaching programs in Korea. For detailed information on the Fulbright ETA program, see the Fulbright website.
Interest in learning English is so pervasive in South Korea these days that official government statistics can hardly capture the scope of the activity. An article entitled “The English Frenzy in Korea” recently appeared on the KBS website. With regard to the size of the English education market in South Korea, the article suggests that ”The scope of the English-language education market in Korea reaches 4-5 trillion won annually, including private institutes, textbooks and overseas language programs. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development estimates the official number of English-language private institutes nationwide to surpass 3,000. But people in the private education industry say the actual number of private English institutes nationwide is at least 10,000, with their profits exceeding 2 trillion won a year.”
The article also noted that “The amount of private tutoring costs paid by students for overseas language courses or for studying TOEFL and TOEIC in order to find a job is enormous as well. After polling 2,348 college seniors, the School of Education of Ewha Women’s University found that each of the respondents spent 12.61 million won over four years on average on private education in order to find a job. Of that, 11.94 million won was spent on studying English.”
According to an official of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology quoted in the Korea Times, South Korea has set a goal to increase its international student enrollment to 100,000 by 2010. The plan is part of the revised “Study Korea Project” introduced in 2004. Included in the plan will be an increase in government-funded scholarships, more English-only and Korean language classes, more dormitories for students, and an easing of the rules for working while on a student visa. Ministry official Shin Kang-tak said, “Attracting overseas students has become important not only for education but also the economy and diplomacy. If the number of foreign students increases to 100,000, we can earn 160 billion won. Foreigners graduating from Korean universities will also serve as a driving force in this country, which is suffering from a low birth rate.’’ The number of foreign students in Korea has jumped three-fold over the last four years to 55,000 this year.
According to a recent article in the Chosun Ilbo, more and more Korean parents are enrolling their children for pre-school or kindergarten study of English, partly in response to the Lee Myung Bak administration’s broad English initiative. The government plans to increase English classes in elementary schools from the present 1-2 times a week to 2-3 times a week. In order to give their children an advantage when they enter elementary school, many parents begin teaching their infant children English. The Chosun Ilbo article futher notes that “Since the presidential Transition Committee announced its English education policy, at least 45 English-language schools have newly opened in the Gangnam and Mapo areas.” Staff members at English language kindergarten programs are reporting that enrollment levels have approximately doubled.
The Korea Times reports today that a group of illegal foreign residents from Middle East and African countries were apprehended Wednesday for teaching children English at 30 private language institutes in Seoul. See the full article for details.
Following last year’s presidential election, it immediately became clear that English education would be a priority of the new government. Multiple programs and initiatives have been announced to improve English education in South Korea. Of particular interest are the plans by the island province of Jeju to become an English-Education Hub. The local, self-governing administration of Jeju is promoting the development of an “English City.” (click on graphic to see a full-sized map with proposed location of the city) In that city by March of 2011, Jeju plans to build elementary, middle and high school programs in which students take courses entirely in English. For further detail, see the article in today’s Korea Times.