"We Are Also Unable to Conduct English Classes in English only" - Teachers
A middle school English teacher Mr. A, who undertook only a month-long intensive English training course four years ago, is very much concerned about the prospect of teaching English in English only. "If I tell the students who are already accustomed to native speakers' pronunciations 'Be quiet' in English, I wonder if they won't deride me," confides he. A specialized English teacher Mr. B was assigned to teach English to third and fourth graders of an elementary school in Seoul last year. Having acquired considerable skills in speaking English in addition to taking a four-year college English courses, he thought he could manage the assignment. "But I realized to know is one thing, and to teach is quite another," he reminisces. "I've learned it's quite superficial to cover a textbook in a 40-member class in one year by teaching them only two hours a week."
Such voices of apprehension have emerged in elementary, middle and high schools since February 20 when the education minister announced a plan to conduct English classes in English only. "Of the 128 hours of English taught a year in the high school, hours allocated to conversation, listening and speaking account for less than 30%," complains Hong Wan-ki, 44, who chairs the National English Teachers Club.
"I've undertaken 60 hours in basic training and 120 hours in intensive training at the Teachers Training Institute, which, however, has proved to be insufficient," says Ms Hong Jong-sook, 45, who has taught English at Toksu Elementary School in Seoul for two years. "Elementary school English lessons are given primarily in phonetic language, and one can hardly manage it unless he or she has undergone specialized training." Hong taught English 14 hours a week, less than the ordinary 17-19 hours, but in preparations, she had to spend a far longer time than the lessons she conducted.
It is obvious that English training programs for teachers, which are most important, fall short of the requirements. The country's middle and high schools have a total of over 22,000 English teachers, according to the Education Ministry. Those in Seoul number 4,661, and only 480 or 10.3 percent are set to undergo training this year. The Education Ministry plans, beginning next year, to conduct one hour or more of English lessons for middle and high schools a week and two hours for elementary schools in English only on a compulsory basis. Under the plan, English lessons will be composed of daily situations like airport and department store scenes and focused on role playing. It calls for conducting all English classes in English only gradually.
But English lessons for elementary school third and fourth graders are to be reduced to one hour a week beginning next year. "It is normal for private English conversation institutes to confine the number of students per class to six or seven. I wonder how we could lead students to perform role playing in a class of 30 to 40 students with only one hour allocated a week," asks a teacher. Under such circumstances, nearly half elementary school pupils are taking English lessons at private language institutes or by tutors.
The situation is similar with middle schools, where the seventh educational curricula starts next year on a gradual basis, under which English lessons will be reduced from four to three hours a week. English lessons total about 96 hours a year, of which 30-plus hours are projected to be allocated to conversation. "If and when role playing is conducted, it will be difficult, not only to arouse spontaneity among students, but also to control them," maintains 39-year-old teacher Chung Sa-yol at Namwu Middle School in Seoul. "The authorities seem to be indulged in presenting policies while the goals and status of English education are yet to be defined clearly."
Beginning with the 7th educational curricula, the Education Ministry plans to so revise English textbooks as to focus on English used in daily life, to drastically increase the number of native-speaker instructors and to reinforce training programs for English teachers. Also under study is a formula requiring interviews in English when English teachers are recruited.
