Conference / Seminar / Workshop Reports

Seminar Report

Date: November, 1st, 2008
Subject: The current issues and pressing problems of English education in Korea

As the importance of English has steadily increased, since years ago, the Korean government has been trying to introduce some efficient ways of teaching English. However, in spite of the endeavor, a great number of learners still face with the limitation of applying their ability into practice. Also, as the questions about the methodology of English are being posed, our English education department held a conference on November 1st, at KNU. It dealt with the current issues and problems about national English education. Relating with this subject, there were some presentations done by prominent figure such as the President of Asia TEFL and also presented by a few professors of our department. Moreover, some competent teachers who have been teaching students also presented about their own ideas and methods which were adapted in real classes, too. Among other things, however, I mostly got interested with the content about 'Testing practical spoken English proficiency for teacher' presented by professor Jason Renshaw Dept. of English Education, Teacher’s college, KNU.

His suggestion is based on the idea of online adaptation of the TOEIC “FLEX” speaking test. To be more specific, his purpose is to combine English speaking ability with the actual curriculum and situations in the school by utilizing advantages of the internet. He suggested a seven leveled-program which is divided into several substructures to carry out the class effectively. At the table below, as you can see, there are seven categories. Also there are two or three different tasks in each category. With this program, first of all, it is very easy for students to participate.

Moreover, he also suggested some actual teaching methods, so that teachers can be effective in teaching students about speaking English. One of them is that teachers could give some advice about useful learning strategies and some rational feedbacks after students submitting their works on the designated website. Even if it is not easy for teachers to look over all the students’ works, but the suggestions and quick advice are definitely be very helpful to them. In addition, presentation about the 5th level —focusing on collegiate help among teachers— was the most interesting part through his whole presentation. Putting great emphasis on teachers' participation and interaction with colleagues also is not a common suggestion and furthermore, I think it will help teachers to promote their ability a lot by considering and sharing feedbacks with one another.

I think that attending the seminar was helpful for comprehending problems about English teaching methodology. In this semester, I have been taking Prof. Renshaw’s writing course and posting my essays in his forum. Also I am using the forum for obtaining not only professor’s advice, but also students' advice. It really helps to improve my English. If you need more information about his methodology on speaking test through the online, just visit his own websites; http://www.english-itutor.com/TOEIC_SW.html

<Brief report of other presentations>
•Current Trends and Issues in English Education in Asia. (by Lee Hyo Woong)
-Comparing national present English education system to that of other Asian countries from the points of how many English classes are there,
-Non native English speaking teachers and native English speaking teachers
•Teaching composition in English Class. (by Suh Kong-ju at Daegu Girls’ high school)
-Introducing her own experience and experiment about teaching writing in high school by using complement classes

<Conference/seminar Report>

Date: May, 31st, 2008
Subject: Old and New English Education in Korea
By Yunhee Cho and Seungeun Seo

An English education department seminar was held on May 31st. On that day, we discussed the current controversial topic on President Lee's education reform. That's the well-timed subject that deserves our attention and the attention of the whole nation. Also that is what we need to consider and think about with keen eyes. Though it cannot be denied that President Lee's reform is for the better English education, we reviewed the new policy and the strength and weakness of it as well as the present English education. Also, we had an opportunity to consider which way we have to head for the more effective public education and come up with our version-the prospective teachers. We reviewed the present of Korean English education and new policies of President Lee by four groups.

The first group searched about current issues in Korean English education. They saw English education has changed to focus on listening and speaking rather than grammar and reading that is considered important in the past. But, teachers still teach mostly grammar and reading skill. The main problems result from the lack of the time for students to improve English ability in school class. Because a lot of students are in one class, teachers can't teach all students carefully. In addition, there are many teachers whose communication ability is not enough to teach students. Another problem is that the quality of English textbooks is low, so we have to study using other English materials. Current English education is just headed for the national scholastic achievement examination for the college entrance-like SAT. The exam cannot fully measure student's English ability, since students can solve it easily without perfect understanding.

The second group talked about the new education policy of Lee administration. In contrast with the former president Roh who emphasized "egalitarian", Lee's policies put value on "elite" education. One of his new policies is the diversification of high school. He pledged to establish about 100 independent private schools. There will be founded more new schools that are specialized in various subject. The schools are going to have freedom to plan their own curriculum. Also President Lee's immersion education policy pursues teaching English in English as well as other subjects for reducing private education expenses. The government will also carry out intensive investment to improve the English proficiency of students and the quality of English teachers. In addition to that, the government tries to give liberalization of the entrance exam to universities. Elementary school students will be asked to be tested on their academic ability and secondary school students will be asked to take standardized tests on their academic achievement.

The third group researched about the strength and weakness of new policy. They say that by founding 300 specialized high schools, students can raise many skilled intellectuals. However, it may require high expense on private education within the budget and can cause social unrest. Also, as universities are expected to have their own admission system, they can select students who are qualified for their standard. But, it will lead to unfairness since it also may lead to high school students' private education for the system. The gist of the school is premised on the educational accountability. Although a system can lead to improvements in general education levels, it may cause too excessive competition among students and contain practical difficulties in institutionalizing. By conducting teacher's evaluation, the quality of public education will be improved and it may reduce expenditure of money on private education. However, Teachers are reluctant to accept the teacher evaluation and it can lead to the mercerization of education. As the whole, this project is to enable students to communicate freely in English. But it also evokes questioning about the justice of excessive devotion to English education.

The fourth group talked about the new examination to evaluate English ability and teacher's attitude according to new policy. The present government is planning to adopt a new English Ability Assessment called Korean TOEFL. This is Internet based test and it has four areas (Reading, Speaking, Listening and writing). It will only show pass or fail not score. The members of the group saw there will be four predicted problems. Firstly, it has to be prepared with a number of computer equipment for Internet based testing and large scale of server. Moreover, reliability on scoring cannot guarantee the perfection of the fairness. Even we cannot be sure whether it cuts down expenses on private education. Lastly, teachers should focus on developing students' speaking and listening skills. But, it could take quite a long time to improve those skills. So teachers are expected to endeavor much harder for it. And they will have to design new teaching plan that can enhance students' speaking and listening skills more effectively.

We've looked into the present of English education and President Lee's new education policy. Also we thought about the teacher's attitude coping with the new policy. The new English policy will bring considerable change in our English education whether it is positive or negative. Nowadays, speaking skill became much more important in our daily lives than before. So teachers need to design a new exam which is relevant to its original aim. And they should do their best to carry out the purpose for the better English education, even if it would be strange or difficult at first to be accustomed to it. And they should actively and voluntarily participate in teacher training or getting closer to aural media and will have to make efforts for the future of our English education.

Seminar Report

Date: November, 1st, 2008Subject: The current issues and pressing problems of English education in Korea

As the importance of English has steadily increased, since years ago, the Korean government has been trying to introduce some efficient ways of teaching English. However, in spite of the endeavor, a great number of learners still face with the limitation of applying their ability into practice. Also, as the questions about the methodology of English are being posed, our English education department held a conference on November 1st, at KNU. It dealt with the current issues and problems about national English education. Relating with this subject, there were some presentations done by prominent figure such as the President of Asia TEFL and also presented by a few professors of our department. Moreover, some competent teachers who have been teaching students also presented about their own ideas and methods which were adapted in real classes, too. Among other things, however, I mostly got interested with the content about 'Testing practical spoken English proficiency for teacher' presented by professor Jason Renshaw Dept. of English Education, Teacher’s college, KNU.

His suggestion is based on the idea of online adaptation of the TOEIC “FLEX” speaking test. To be more specific, his purpose is to combine English speaking ability with the actual curriculum and situations in the school by utilizing advantages of the internet. He suggested a seven leveled-program which is divided into several substructures to carry out the class effectively. At the table below, as you can see, there are seven categories. Also there are two or three different tasks in each category. With this program, first of all, it is very easy for students to participate.

Moreover, he also suggested some actual teaching methods, so that teachers can be effective in teaching students about speaking English. One of them is that teachers could give some advice about useful learning strategies and some rational feedbacks after students submitting their works on the designated website. Even if it is not easy for teachers to look over all the students’ works, but the suggestions and quick advice are definitely be very helpful to them. In addition, presentation about the 5th level —focusing on collegiate help among teachers— was the most interesting part through his whole presentation. Putting great emphasis on teachers' participation and interaction with colleagues also is not a common suggestion and furthermore, I think it will help teachers to promote their ability a lot by considering and sharing feedbacks with one another.

I think that attending the seminar was helpful for comprehending problems about English teaching methodology. In this semester, I have been taking Prof. Renshaw’s writing course and posting my essays in his forum. Also I am using the forum for obtaining not only professor’s advice, but also students' advice. It really helps to improve my English. If you need more information about his methodology on speaking test through the online, just visit his own websites; [url]

&lt;Brief report of other presentations&gt;•Current Trends and Issues in English Education in Asia. (by Lee Hyo Woong) -Comparing national present English education system to that of other Asian countries from the points of how many English classes are there, -Non native English speaking teachers and native English speaking teachers•Teaching composition in English Class. (by Suh Kong-ju at Daegu Girls’ high school) -Introducing her own experience and experiment about teaching writing in high school by using complement classes

-inhyunkim

Thank you, Inhyun for your Seminar Report

I didn’t participate in the seminal that’s why I have been curious about that. So your report is very helpful for me.

The thing you mostly got interested with is familiar with me too, because 'Testing practical spoken English proficiency for teacher' presented by professor Jason Renshaw showed and performed that for the class of teaching Practical English. I agree with your opinion that is Dr. Renshaw’s suggestion is very practical and helpful for English learner especially for future English teacher as us.

Is it surprising that his Flex is to combine English speaking ability with the actual curriculum and situations in the school by utilizing advantages of the Internet. I think “combining” is very important. I expect Jason’s way will be prevailed.

Thank you

Sincerely

Hi Gangbeum, I am Sangwook.

The essay reminds me of the memory both of us have. I totally agree with his opinion that there is no royal road to English. We have to practice and use it a lot to do that. I think, as a student of English education department, we should consider about what you have wrote.

Thank you for writing this report and see you on Monday.

Conference/seminar Report (1)

By Kangbeum Kwon

“To English learning, Is There a Royal Road?”

By Jaewoon Choi, the senior director of the Education office in Daegu

On November 16, 2008 gathered all of experts and researchers of English education in KNU. It was for a discussion about the current issues of English education. The attendants gave and took a lot of questions and answers, sharing their opinion. Especially, Jaewoon Choi impressed the audience with the presentation titled “To English learning, Is There a Royal Road?” He is now the senior director of the Education office in Daegu. He has studied English for a long time, so he is really good at English. He said he read newspaper written in English everyday to maintain his English skill. Because learning English is necessary in these days, many students try to study English hard at first. But as time goes by, they have difficulty in studying English, so they tend to give up studying English soon. Furthermore, the public education system doesn’t satisfy the students and their parents. Considering this circumstance, he suggested a couple of effective ways to study English with traditional Chinese phrase (This consists of four Chinese characters).

Firstly, he said we need to look up a word in a dictionary at least three times(삼고초려), to guess the meaning of it in the context (문맥중심), to study it with its synonyms and antonyms together(일망타진). And he emphasized repeating a script with concentration is the most important to improve English listening skill(반복학습, 주의집중). It would be really helpful for us to try to speak a word or sentence repeatedly even though this would make incorrectness of pronunciation(정면승부), to try to follow the pronunciation and intonation of a native speaker(모방철저), and to have a lot of chances to talk with a native speaker face to face(현장학습).

On top of that, he explained how to enhance English reading skill; the more books you read, the better your skill gets(다다익선), and also you need a specific and a long-range plan to study English. Memorizing the famous sentences and thinking in the way that a foreigner do would be good for your writing skill(명문암기). He also mentioned the right attitude toward studying; it consists of things like choosing the learning materials fit to your level and interest, using all your body constantly when studying English, and not being afraid of using English.

These suggestions were the things that we have been familiar with but have also been easy to forget. He was sure if we follow them, our English skills would be better. He admitted that getting a proficiency in English is difficult and sometimes makes us frustrated. But it is necessary for us to learn English and have enough ability to get the new ideas through it. He insisted that being proficient in English would be possible when we try to study English consistently, overcome many troubles, and practice and imitate a native speaker’s pronunciation and thinking repeatedly. He reminded us of a sentence to think about, ‘Be a person proficient in English, but not an American.’

-kangbeumkwon