Innovation and Change in PELT in Korea

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Innovation and Changein PELT in Korea

• WonKey LEE, PhD
• Seoul National University of Education
• wkl_at_snue.ac.kr

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• Order of presentation
• 1. A brief history of primary ELT in Korea
• 2. Koreas National Curriculum system
• 3. Some positive and negative effects of primary
  ELT since 1997
• 4. Some of the governments policies and
  projects
• 5. Some recommendations for the future
• 6. Assessment in primary ELT
• a general
  picture

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1. A brief history of primary ELT in Korea

• A. South Korea
• One third the size of Great Britain
• 50 million people
• 3rd highest population density
• 12th largest economy
• GDP per capita 20,000
• Lacks natural resources (abounds in people)
• Too many people in a small land ? competition

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• B. Early education movement
• Early 1980's, early education movement'
• encouraged by MOE as a future-oriented
• educational policy.
• 2) Early English education' was put in the
• spotlight.
• 3) a variety of assumptions about early (foreign
• language) education
• "The earlier the better" assumption
• "Critical period hypothesis"
• "LAD hypothesis" etc.
• unproven,
  untested!

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• C. ELT in primary schools
• Korea's globalization policy
• Korea started to open the society to the world
  after the Asian Games in 1986, and the Olympic
  Games in 1988. (Kingdom of the hermit, morning
  calm)
• Inevitable changes of the surroundings
• GATT (1947) ? WTO (1995) ? FTA (today)
• Unlimited competition foreseen ? globalization
  policy (to survive) ? need English as a means of
  communication (trade, commerce and travel)

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• 2) Introducing primary ELT in Korean schools
• Only the human resource that we can turn to.
• Human resource development became the essential
  strategy for the nation's survival and
  prosperity. (MOE ? MOEHRD)
• ELT was introduced into primary schools in 1997.
  (preparations for new NC, new textbooks, TT,
  facilities)
• Political decision Academics and educationists
  were generally unenthusiastic about introducing
  Primary ELT, because things were not ready, but
  the then president and government decided it.
• Big decisions are usually political ones.
  Politics is everywhere. We cant do without
  politics even in education.

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• Rationales for the Primary ELT
• (1) to give an equal opportunity for English to
  
• every child in all Korea (urban/rural
  rich/poor)
• (2) to improve the conventional teaching
• methods of English in secondary schools
• (3) to secure the competitiveness in the modern
• globalized world
• Partly persuaded by the earlier, the easier, the
  better assumption

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2. Korea's National Curriculum

• A. National Curriculum
• National Curriculum system
• The national government plans, budgets,
  implements and assesses the education of
  kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools.
  (all private, public, national schools should
  abide by the NC.)

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• primary school 6 years
• middle school 3 years
• high school 12 years
• The Basic Common Education Period for Koreans
• (10 years from primary year 1 to high year 1)
  
• (T O/C are stated like a single curriculum in
  a graded manner)
• NC revised every 57 years, to reflect the
  changes of society and educational theory
• ? new TT, developing new textbooks, new tests
  ... lots of following works

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• 2) Nature of the primary English curriculum
  (3 characteristics)
• Spoken English primacy
• Teaching written English deliberately prohibited
  at the
• beginning stage. (? GTM resulted in students'
  lack of spoken E. command.)
• If written E. were allowed from the beginning
  stage, teachers would definitely teach English
  mainly by explanation in Korean. (Teachers
  tend to teach as they were taught, not as they
  were told to teach.)
• Clearly foreseen that the very chronic diseases
  of the Korean ELT would never be cured, even if
  English is taught to younger learners.

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• 3 chronic diseases
• ? study English only for examination
• ? study English by memorizing rules and words
• ? study English mainly by reading without
  speaking ("Dumb English")
• The current ratio is w2 s8.
• This spoken-English primacy policy has made
• a great change in teaching methodology,
  materials development, teacher education, and in
  wider areas of English language teaching.

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• (2) Learner-centeredness
• Very passive, and highly teacher-dependent want
  to be spoon-fed
• (Mustnt step on your teachers shadow.)
• Necessary to encourage students to take
  responsibility for their own learning
• You can take a horse to water, but you can't make
  him drink. (give him the desire to drink)
• The best way of teaching is the way students
  learn best.

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• (3) Level-based teaching
• One teacher to many students
• The average class size is about 35.
• Students' individual differences inevitably
  exist.
• Students of different levels do different tasks
  in the same period to maximize their learning
  (pursuing the individualization of learning)
• Learner-centered teaching learning-centered
  teaching
• (meet learner needs) (achieve
  effectiveness in learning)

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• B. Primary English textbook
• Textbooks are naturally based on the NC.
• At the moment, one national textbook is used, but
  from 2009, a variety of MOE-recognized textbooks
  will be used. (3 different types of textbook )
• The textbooks are CD-ROM based. (everythings in
  CD)
• Used as a teaching aid as well as a teacher
  training aid
• Relevant or supplementary materials are provided
  to the schools and homes directly through
  internet.

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3. Some positive and negative effects
(since 1997)

• () raised people's awareness of
• the role of English in modern society
• the necessity benefits of early learning of
  English
• The globalization (appreciation of other people,
  other cultures) ? open-minded
• Young parents were fascinated by their child who
  understands and speaks some English, and gave
  more attention to their childs English
  education.
• ? come to rely on private sector education

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• () Students' English has improved on average
• Better than nothing (Clearly improved)
• More opportunity of exposure ? better command
• Social pressure (Everybody does English, then I
  also have to do it.)
• () Everybody regards English as their
  everyday-life job, and life-long endeavor.

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• (-) Private sector education business has got
  overheated (overflourishing).
• Private tuitions ? a threat to people's living
  expenses (politically sensitive) 32
  billion/2007
• (-) Early overseas study separated from family
  (eg. In Singaporean, Malaysian, Philipino
  international schools, Koreans kids are
  overflowing) wild goose daddy
• (-) Too early start (Kindergarten, toddlers,
  prenatal English education ...)
• (Too much is as bad as too little. Too early
  is as bad as too late.)

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• (-) English divide ? Big gap between individuals
  in exposure opportunity and ability
  (urban-rural/ the haves - the have-nots) ?
  social, political problem, tension
• To remove the negatives effects,
• utilizing the positive effects, the government
  does make a variety of efforts.

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4. Some of the government's policies
and projects

• Two research projects for policy making
• Two national researches to expand teaching hours
• R1) to lower the starting year from year 3 to
  year 1
• R2) to increase the current teaching hours
• 3rd 4th graders 1 h/w ? 23 hrs
• 5th 6th graders 2 h/w ? 34 hrs
• National emotion about lowering the starting year
  is quite negative. (can't curb or lessen private
  sector education even if the starting year is
  lowered. It will end up as an extension of the
  bad past ...)

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• B. English villages/ camps
• One of local government's big projects
• 12week English experience program (normally
  residential programs)
• C. English-Only City in Jejudo Island
• To construct an English-using city 15 schools
  (9,000 students per year) (30km x 40km area)
• D. EPIK program
• 500 ENSTs every year ? can't employ sufficiently
  qualified ones in a sufficient number

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• E. Teaching English through English campaign
• At least more than half of the teaching hours,
  teachers should use English.(Strongly
  recommended)
• F. After-school English programs
• Currently this is a really hot issue.
• To reduce private sector education expenses
• To lessen the English divide between haves and
  have-nots
• G. Educational broadcasting
• specializing in English teaching programs
• (launched in April 2007)

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5. Some recommendations for the future

• The quality of education cannot exceed that of
  teachers.
• -To make teachers sufficiently proficient in
  English
• -To train them in teaching methodology
• A. Primary ELT Not by ENSTs, But by KETs
• A new awakening We cant rely on ENSTs forever.
  Korean teachers should take charge of it.
• ? MOE and 16 local education authorities are
  making greater efforts, by increasing and
  expanding direct TT

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• B. More and intensified teacher training
• ? More intensive domestic teacher training
• (individualized teacher training, cascading)
• The British Council Korea is making a solid
  contribution in cooperation with SMEA and SNUE.
  (pursuing a cascade model in TT)
• More opportunity to get trained abroad, and by
  ENST specialists in all aspects. (cascading)

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• C. More and effective materials and resources
• Teachers do want to concentrate themselves on
  teaching, nothing else.
• They want
• - materials and resources made and supplied by
  experts
• - more intensive training in language improvement
  and methodology
• - models of teaching assessment provided

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6. Assessment in primary ELT

• Assessment in primary schools was discouraged in
  the early stage. (not to give excessive
  psychological burden to young children, to curb
  private sector education)
• Observation, performance test during class
  results not published/ compared with other
  schools.
• Parents want to know their children's level of
  English ? Private sector administers commercially
  oriented tests regularly.

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• Observation checklist items
• Preparation and participation 1 2 3
  4 5
• Classroom task completion 1 2 3
  4 5
• Efforts-making and involvement 1 2 3 4
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• Performance-based assessment (item type)
• listen and do something (match, draw, color,
  guess, act.
• read and do something (multiple matching, word
  search.
• speak something (survey, spot the differences,
  make up a story
• write something (rebus writing, write
  words/sentences for pictures..
  

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• ? you can learn better by taking a test...
• A national test is introduced in the late 2009,
• based on the attainment targets specified in
  the NC (by 4 skills)
• MOE-led project supported by National Assembly
• 2009 NC-based achievement test (p/m/h)
• 2011 general proficiency test

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• The NC-based teaching and the National Test are
  expected to synergize each other, each
  reinforcing the others effects.
• The new government is expected to make schools
  and students compete, to secure excellence. ?
  Tests may be more frequently given.

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Thank you very much!