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| Setting milestone in English education |
| 2004.07.07 / Korea Herald / Kim Soo-yeon |
Until the early 1990s, English education in Korea focused mainly on teaching grammatical rules. Unfortunately, as a result, high school graduates lacked the practical communication skills necessary to compete in an increasingly globalized world.
In response, the College Scholastic Ability Test shifted its focus in 1993 to the balanced development of four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. This called for a dramatic change in teaching methods and materials.
For one thing, the government recommended making English the main language of instruction in the classroom. But this change was not easy to implement, in part because many Korean English teachers did not have an adequate command of the language. There was an urgent need for better teacher training, as well as up-to-date textbooks and other materials, to reflect the new educational philosophy.
It was against this backdrop that the International Graduate School of English in Korea was founded in 2002. Though the field is rapidly evolving, Jeong Young-kuk, a professor at the graduate school, outlined the need to foster a new breed of English education professionals in his recent article in the quarterly journal "English Today."
Approximately 20 percent of the students in its English teaching department are teachers at public schools who have taken a leave of absence from their jobs. All students at IGSE receive scholarships for four semesters. They must study English conversation and writing and can specialize in one of two areas - teaching or development of English-language teaching materials. Its first batch of 37 students is set to graduate in August.
In addition, IGSE provides partial funding for a required three-week training program abroad. Future English teachers study in Hawaii, while those in the materials development stream travel to England for training.
Producing information technology professionals is another goal of IGSE, according to Jeong. While textbooks have been the main teaching material so far, developments in IT have begun to influence English education and demand for computer-based materials is on the rise, he said in the journal.
IGSE is small, but its aspirations are high.
"If IGSE produces English education professionals through intensive training for 10 years, I believe that Korea's English education can improve further," IGSE President Moon Yong said.
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