A few months ago the new Korean administration discussed plans to fully integrate English Education into its curriculum. This would include teaching subjects such as math and science in English. At the time it was a huge issue in the political and social spectrum. However, it never seemed like the idea had legs. It seemed more to be the first high bid in what would become an interesting negotiating process.

I understand the desire for Korea to update its English education system. After nearly ten years of being taught English most still can not hold basic conversations. Although they do fairly well on tests. The Korean English Education system needs an overhaul.

Now, again there is talk of hiring more English teachers and placing them in more schools. This in of itself is fine. However, the idea that English classes should be taught only in English puzzles me. Perhaps if the administration would actually look at an English class they might see that most students are not at an English proficiency level that would allow them to experience an entire class taught in English.

Have you ever tried to explain the game hangman to 35 Korean students, who speak absolutely no English, without the aide of a Korean translation? I have. It’s almost impossible. I wasted ten minutes of class trying to explain this to them with hand motions, easy words and smoke signals. I’m still not sure they understood what they were doing.

A second problem with the hiring of foreign teachers is that many of us significantly lack teaching qualifications. We may have a degree (in something other than education) and some enthusiasm but those two things do not a teacher make. It does not take a mathematical genius (luckily) to figure out that hiring more Native English teachers would further dilute an already thin talent pool.

This is where I realize the basic flaw surrounding the Korean theory on teaching English, and that is that EVERY student should be taught English. What this results in, then, is over sized classes that meet only once every two weeks for forty minutes at a time. So while every student is taught English, every student is taught English fairly poorly.

In this system, I think it is actually a benefit to not have prior teaching experience. With current time and classroom logistical constraints the Native English Teachers aren’t really teachers at all, we are more like English salesmen. We try to excite kids to the possibility of learning English…from someone else. We would do it ourselves if we didn’t have 1,000 other students to see this week.

As someone who has teaching experience I know what good teaching is. I know what good teaching is not. I know that good teaching is not having 36 students repeat every word you say or playing games for 40 minutes. I know that if they only do this once every two weeks they will remember and retain absolutely nothing. I know that having 22 different classes, some coming with full knowledge of the days lesson and some having no idea what the sentence “how are you,” is makes it impossible for teachers to know their students or plan for their abilities. Finally, I know what a trained teacher is capable of given the proper circumstances, and that these are not proper circumstances. A system like this actually drives away the qualified teachers Korea needs.

So instead of having MORE Native English teachers we should have LESS students. Turn the English curriculum into an elective program where students, who actually care to learn English, work in smaller classes 2 to 3 times a week, getting the individual attention they need. Give the Native English teachers a full hour to teach this lesson. Allow them to assess their students. Allow them to create tasks that work with multiple intelligences instead of constantly hammering pronunciation into the larynx of an ill-prepared student.

True, less students would be taught English but those who are would end up more prepared. Additionally, those parents who send their students to private institutions (Hogwans) would be given another, cheaper, alternative to a pricey endeavor. A classroom system that is woefully dependent on rote memorization, completely out of conversational context, has the potential to truly enhance students abilities and us teachers who came here with the hope of actually teaching can put our skills and education to use. At the very least it will provide sufficient English education until the government can train its current Korean teachers to teach English more effectively.

Making English an elective class would be the first baby step in a journey that Korea has deemed absolutely necessary. Turning the entire curriculum on its head would be a huge step…off of a cliff.