Now, this is an interesting article.
The writer is mainly discussing "hagwon" or after school private lesson academies and university entrance testing. A lot of his points carry a lot of weight. As someone who is a foreign English teacher, an Anthropologist, and student of half a dozen foreign languages (each taught in a different style) I can honestly agree with a lot of his points.
The Korean English education system is flawed...what foreign language program isn't? There is no substitute for learning a language "organically." But "immersion language programs" don't always mesh with a student's personal learning style. I, for one, can't learn that way...I need to study and drill and analyze and practice before I can begin to understand in an immersion-style environment. However, some people do fabulously in that type of learning environment.
For some, hagwons can (and do) suck the joy out of learning a foreign language. Spending 7-8 hours a day in school, then going to more school can be exhausting. But if students are truly interested in the learning the language, then hagwons are a valuable resource.
The main problem is the university testing system. Student work really hard on grammar and vocabulary...but they almost never practice with communication. The tests are all about the vocabulary and grammar points, but not about USING the language. In fact, after university testing...many Koreans don't use English again at all.
True story: I broke my cell phone a few weeks ago. I was in Seoul and thought, I would be ok...I would just go to a cell phone shop in the "tourist" district and between my terrible Korean and someone's terrible English, we would figure something out. No such luck. After hours (and I mean HOURS) we accomplished nothing and I returned home without a working phone. But the local dealer (who taught himself English using many of the same methods of the writer of the article) was able to help me within 20 minutes. A week later I had a replacement phone and he had helped me file an insurance claim with the cell phone company.
My point to that being: if Korean education wants to focus on English singularly for university entrance testing and not for practical application of the language, then Koreans may have a hard time continuing to compete on a global scale. They are, in fact, wasting time and money, if they do not use English education for the purpose of communication. Even those that do remember their school English are embarrassed to use it because they are afraid of making mistakes.
And yes, personal interest has a lot to do with it, too. Students that are studying English because they have to for the university test and plan to stay in Korea and/or work and socialize only with other Koreans are not going to be as vested in studying the language as those who truly have interest in the language and interested in travel and working/socializing with English-speakers.
By the time I got to my students they have had English education for, let's say, 6 years. Some have had extracurricular (hagwon) lessons, some haven't. But, if English is part of the regular curriculum starting in 3rd grade...well, you would assume that by high school they would be able to make rudimentary conversation. Some of my students are practically fluent...others can barely answer "how are you?" and even more robotically answer "fine thanks, how are you?"
My top students are practically fluent and we can talk, even have deep and meaningful conversations, if I slow my words down (I speak quickly even by American standards). They have an accent...some more pronounced than others, but (as referenced in the article) that goes back to learning flawed pronunciation from Korean English teachers, not being able to listen to native speakers, and no effort to teach/learn phonetics. And to be honest, English is not their "mother tongue" so they will always have some sort of accent.
And yet, the government is reducing the Native English Teacher program. Yes, I understand there is a recession. Yes, I understand that other programs need funding, too. And the program itself is flawed. The hiring process needs to be more strict: a college chemistry major doing a gap year before an MS program is not going to give the same dedication as someone who majored in English, Education, or something related. And teaching English out of the same flawed text books won't help with fluency either.
Students, teachers, administrators all need to come together to develop a program that focusing on communication and practical application of the language. Students should be encouraged to use English...not forced to memorize thousands words and phrases that they will never use again.
Let's not even argue "speak Korean in Korea" because that is an infuriating as the "this is American, we speak English argument." The world is connected...through internet, economy, politics. Nothing is isolated anymore. Language and communication are imperative to cross-cultural understanding, which is, in turn, essential for living in a globalized world. By the same argument, Americans need to step up to the plate and stop expecting the world to speak English. Learn a language...at least a little and see if/how your worldview changes.
Read the article....both the article and the comments are enlightening...and I will step down from my soapbox:
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/08/28/south-koreas-18-billion-education-problem/
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