Korean TEFL system ‘broken’

Posted 28 May 2009

Teaching English in Korea must undergo profound changes to make it more effective, an expert has argued.

In an interview with the Korea Herald, Benjamin Kalt, a TEFL professor at Dankook University, said it was time to acknowledge the current system is well and truly "broken".

Although he conceded language students in Korea are some of the most conscientious in the world, Mr Kalt argued hard work alone will not ensure good results.

He told the newspaper: "Until government, teachers, parents and students can dispassionately reflect, respect one another and admit there are problems and decide to work together to address them, parents will continue to spend, students will continue to suffer psychologically and test scores will not go up."

Among Mr Kalt’s suggestions to improve TEFL teaching is making language learning more fun, including watching Western films, "reading Harry Potter," perusing English websites and listening to international music.

Earlier this month, a Korean newspaper columnist also warned that English language standards in the country can only improve if students are given a better "cultural context" of the subject.

Jon Huer, who writes for the Korea Times, is fed up of schools teaching the subject as "a purely technical task".

Category: TEFL Industry