TEFL White Oak Michigan

Problems for Learners in a Country of Your Choice (10) In an article published last year in the Chosun Ilbon, Seoul was in the process of approving budget cuts that would eventually phase out around 225 english teachers throughout the course of the year under the pretense that the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of foreign teachers did not justify the “42 million won” spent on each one (“Seoul to Phase Out Native english teachers”, Dec. 2011). Such an article is just one of many that outline a growing concern in a country where an average of $15 billion a year is spent on english education and yet, its students continue to produce remarkably low test scores. It is a fact that has left many wondering what or who is really to blame for Koreans' inability to master a language that they have poured large sums of time and money into. From one english teacher's perspective, a cross-cultural evaluation of the current teaching methods is one solution to the inadequacies in the english-language education in Korea. As is the case with many Asian countries, english is a challenge to learn due to significant differences in semantics, as well as differing phonetic systems and syntactic structures. However, despite such challenges, language differences are merely that: challenges. The obstacles that are preventing Korean students from achieving as much as they are investing in the language go far deeper than mere syntax or phonetics but can be found in the very environment, motivation, and style under which Korean students tackle english. To begin with, compulsory english education occurs in public schools, where students attend classes of 35-40 students or more depending on school budgets. Such high class sizes offer little time for adequate conversation sessions. Those speaking sessions that do occur, are rarely designed to utilize critical thinking skills; rather, they consist of repetitive phrases that students soon learn to memorize for test purposes and little else. Likewise, much of the instruction focuses heavily on reading, listening, and grammar and are largely teacher-centered. teacher qualifications are also a concern, with native teachers lacking fluency and foreign teachers lacking credentials, experience, or an understanding of the linguistic or cultural differences separating themselves from their students. Not only do lessons often fail to incorporate student participation, they rarely utilize authentic materials, videos, computers, or even projectors. Combine such factors with a high exam-consciousness, and students are left with a textbook-heavy english course that focuses on grammar and reading and provides little time or incentive for speaking and writing. To compensate, many parents send their children to "hagwons", otherwise known as academies or cram schools. Unfortunately, such academies vary to their degree of effectiveness as many are guilty of the same faults as the public school curriculum. Still, with such high financial investment equals high expectations from the parents, expectations that often fall on the child who ultimately looses interest and motivation as well as on the school who often buckle under the demands of parents, demands that at times are counterproductive to the learning environment. It is important to note, however, that these observations have been made by foreign teachers in the classroom and do not take into account the inherent differences in the Korean education system. Following in the Confucian tradition, Korean classrooms are typically teacher-centered, with students offering very little information and trained to express themselves indirectly so as not to offend. Likewise, due to the tremendous pressure of their high-standards education system, Korean learners are often highly sensitive to the possibility of making mistakes, and therefore hesitant to speak up. Seemingly, such norms prevent students from fully engaging the language they are trying to learn. Yet, just as language requires a great deal of immersion, it also requires cultural understanding in order to be fully authentic. The failure of english education in Korea does not merely come from a lack of utilizing good teaching practices, but a lack of awareness about the cultural differences that are preventing students from fully immersing in english. teachers must be working together to determine how best to teach students while balancing cultural norms. As Korea continues to debate amongst themselves how best to meet the demand for english education, cross-cultural communication among their staff and students is one helpful point from which to start.