Teaching middle school English

The Korean government sets national education policies and English is a mandatory academic subject starting in elementary school. In the past, English education in Korean classrooms focused heavily on grammar. While this is still important, the expectation is to shift more towards oral communication skills. However, the Korean teachers surveyed in Butler’s What Level of English Proficiency Do Elementary School Teacher Need to Attain to Teach EFL? reported they felt their level of English was not high enough to teach to the expectation of the country’s education policies. Korea is starting to hire native English speakers to help bridge the gap between Korean teacher’s English proficiency and the expectations of the curriculum. Our middle school visits gave me some insight into this trend.

Our first middle school visit started in the library. When our group of 16 Americans walked in, a group of five boys darted into the rows of bookshelves laughing. Welcome to middle school.

According to our hosts, middle schools tend to be the most challenging schools for teachers because of behavior issues. I was surprised to learn the underlying cause of some student misbehavior is that the work is too easy.  Many parents in Korea enroll students in tutoring programs for English and other subjects. It’s not uncommon for parents with financial resources to send their children abroad for a year or two to study in an English-speaking school.  Because of this trend, some students complete the middle school curriculum while still in elementary school. Also, some students’ English oral communication skills are stronger than the Korean teachers'. In the schools I visited, students receive the same English curriculum regardless of their English language proficiency.  In two separate discussions I heard, “We teach to the middle.” 

This middle school has a native-English-speaking teacher (NEST) who co-teaches with a Korean teacher. Their NEST teacher (who may not even have teaching certification or experience) teaches the class and the Korean teacher is there to help with translation of instruction as needed. The Korean teacher leads the class one day a week to teach grammar. We did not get to see a classroom in action at this school, but I wonder if this co-teaching arrangement makes it even more difficult for the Korean teacher to maintain his or her authority. The NEST focuses on oral communication and develops interactive learning activities.

No touch is their anti-bullying campaign

I had a chance to go into a classroom of boys and explain my job as an ELL teacher.  As luck would have it, I was one of three people in our group who toured the building in traditional Korean clothing. I got quite a reaction when I walked into the room.  When I asked them what they would want their English teacher to do to help them learn English, one student replied, “Make it easy.” Sounds like a typical middle school response to me.  

The next middle school we visited had a similar program for English instruction. We got to meet their NEST teacher and see his classroom.  He came to Korea to teach English without a teaching background. He develops his own curriculum and appreciates having a Korean teacher in class to help bridge the English-only instruction. The NEST teacher said he and the Korean teacher have a good working relationship.

These middle school visits helped clarify the trend to hire native-English-speaker teachers as co-teachers. Koreans are driven to be competitive in a global world. Since Korean is not the language of international business, the Koreans need to learn English. I noticed many of the adults who spoke to us apologized for their English proficiency. With the younger generation’s wider access to English through technology, tutoring and study abroad opportunities I wonder if the next generation will be more fluent in English. I wonder if it’s possible for Korea to eventually develop a critical mass of Korean teachers who don’t need a NEST teacher in their classroom.