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Updated On: 12/7/2006
Author: Jeffrey Miller - Korea Times Columnist

If you happened to read an editorial in this paper last week about ``shocking test scores'' you might have wondered what is wrong with English education in this country.

The gist of the editorial was that English education in Korea has failed to live up to the expectations of the Education Ministry because of many teachers' overall linguistic proficiency in providing quality English instruction for students. While the editorial called into question this linguistic proficiency based on a group of teachers' shocking TOEIC scores, what was even more disturbing was that many middle and high school students are taking this test.

For the life of me, I cannot understand the logic of middle or high school students studying TOEIC. On one level it is absurd to imagine young language learners having to spend hours at home or some ``hagwon’’ studying to take the TOEIC in lieu of more practical English study. On another level it is sad that greedy hagwon owners are taking advantage of these children, not to mention the parents who send their kids off to these institutes to study TOEIC so the students can score higher on the university entrance exam.

In recent years the TOEIC has become somewhat of a ``magic bullet'' for assessing a person's language skills. For many language learners it has become a yardstick for measuring their English proficiency not only for job placement and promotion, but also for preparation for academic pursuits whether here or abroad. Inasmuch as the test has its advantages like evaluating one's listening and reading skills, more often than not it has become for many a shortcut for improving one's English proficiency.

So what is really wrong with English education in Korea? A teacher scoring low on the TOEIC is one thing (not to mention more of an embarrassment than anything else), but the real problem with English education, aside from the overall linguistic proficiency of some teachers, might very well be getting some priorities straight. To be sure, what's more important _ scoring high on a test to get into a university or being able to communicate in English?

At the same time, if the Education Ministry wants to improve English education it not only needs to hire more qualified teachers (both Korean and native speakers) but also needs to invest more in teacher training. Although sending teachers overseas for training is a good idea, there are some excellent teacher-training courses at universities like Yonsei, which offer teachers TESOL certificate programs as well as courses to help teachers upgrade their language skills.

If the government is looking for some short-term solution, many of these ongoing programs at universities could be expanded so teachers could study in the evenings or Saturdays. I have taught many of these teacher-training courses the past couple of years and the elementary and middle school teachers who have taken these courses have benefited immensely from them.

Moreover, maybe it's about time that the government started cracking down on a lot of these hagwon and some of the greedy owners to ensure that the teachers who teach at them are qualified. Earlier this year there was a public outcry over a documentary about unqualified native English teachers in Korea, but the real problem was many of the hagwon owners who hired these teachers. Maybe the government ought to administer the TOEIC to some of these hagwon owners and see how well they do.

One thing that would be hard to change is the mindset that some people have when it comes to learning English in the first place. Let's face it, learning English is big business in Korea. Aside from all the language institutes, all one has to do is just take a walk in any bookstore and see just how big learning English is in Korea with the profusion of English language books, tapes, and test study guides. While many language learners have probably benefited from these resources there are just as many who spend hours reading some vocabulary or idiom book but still can't put two sentences together.

For someone who has been on the frontlines as it were when it comes to teaching English in Korea, whenever I interview prospective language students for our program at Yonsei, one of the questions that I ask them is "why do you want to study English?" Invariably, many interviewees give a stock response that learning English is important for getting a job or that it is necessary for communication in this age of globalization. Fair enough, but sadly there are some interviewees who are not certain why they want to study English. For many, studying English is some rite of passage without any real end in sight.

Likewise, changing this mindset is only part of a much bigger problem once these language learners are out in the real world. One would think given Korean's penchant for learning English that once these books have been read, TOEIC tests taken, and language courses passed that the level of English proficiency would be quite high. Sadly, this is far from the truth with the continued misuse of English whether on a personal or professional level. From blatant grammatical and vocabulary mistakes in books, articles and advertisements to the humorous and disturbing use of Konglish by businesses, the misuse of English is more shocking than some low TOEIC score by a middle school teacher.

Learning English should be fun and gratifying but if it only means getting a good TOEIC score or getting into a good university (and thereby taking the fun out of the real purpose for learning any language) then efforts to improve the quality of English education will continue to be in jeopardy. Low TOEIC scores by a group of middle and high school teachers is alarming to say the least, but if the Education Ministry really wants to do something to improve the quality of English education then it needs to find a way to make the learning of English more useful and fulfilling for students in and out of the classroom.