South Korea's next president pushes for English

Seoul: South Korea's next president proposed yesterday of hiring thousands of new teachers to strengthen English education and improve national competitiveness.

President-elect Lee Myung-bak's team envisions that most English classes will be taught totally in English beginning in 2010, a dramatic overhaul of the country's educational establishment.

Lee, set to take office on February 25, plans to hire 23,000 new English teachers by 2013 and inject some 4 trillion won (Dh15.4 billion) into English education over the next five years.

For decades, almost all South Korean students have been taught English in Korean, with an emphasis on reading comprehension and grammar - a practice that produces few fluent English speakers even among college graduates.

The policy resulted in a huge demand for private English education among high school and college students and beyond since fluency in English can guarantee a job in South Korea.

Divide

The English craze has also caused what critics call an "English divide" in the education-obsessed country. The rich who can provide their children with a good English education help them land high-paying jobs, while the poor who are deprived of an English education fall further down the social ladder.

Lee, a pragmatic former CEO of Hyundai Group's construction arm, has pledged to make sure all high school graduates can conduct everyday conversations in English.

"Like it or not, English is one of the common languages in the world," Lee Kyung-sook, head of Lee's transition team, said in a televised public hearing on English education.

"National competitiveness is directly related to English education."

The plan opens the way for English-speaking professionals - such as former diplomats and businessmen stationed abroad - to become teachers.

It also calls for exchange programmes for teachers from English-speaking countries and the hiring of college students, housewives and overseas Koreans who can speak fluent English as assistant teachers.

Lee Dong-kwan, a transition team spokesman, said officials will survey public opinion before finalising the plan, according to his office.

The plan is drawing mixed reactions from teachers.

Hwang In-sung, a supervisor at Daejeon Metropolitan Education Office, said most instructors are in favour of the proposal, but older ones "are concerned they might not be capable of teaching English in English". Lee Seung-ok, a high school English teacher in Seoul, said only a few students could follow lessons in English.