Bursting the Alma bubble

Unqualified but capable teachers come to Korea to teach English

AMY WILLEY

Staff Writer

SHI-EUN YI

Reporter of the Sogang Herald
sieunyi@sogang.ac.kr

Do you know how native English speakers are treated in Korea? It depends on which cities those foreigners are in. Unlike Seoul, my hometown did not have enough foreigners to teach English and that resulted in very polite and favorable attitudes toward foreigners. English has become important internationally and Korea could not escape that trend. Nationally, English became the first foreign language subject taught in middle and high schools. Some students even go to English-speaking countries as teenagers to take advantage of it. The number of these students is increasing so dramatically that it is becoming a social problem. That is, the Korean educational system cannot handle this outflow and it is considered a waste of foreign currency.

People also began to consider more efficient ways of teaching besides books: in order to reduce waste and because people realized books cannot cover everything in learning a new language, native English speakers were positioned in high schools. This is a big help when it comes to the suburbs like my little city because the students can practice English with native speakers. In my high school students were very interested in learning English, especially with native speakers. We treated those teachers as more than “speakers.” They got lots of presents on their birthdays or teacher’s days. Their lunchtime was always full of reservations. Then “Charlie’s Angels” came to my city: Jessica, Fiona and Beth – Our Lucy was prettier though. Although they were all teachers in high schools, only Beth had a degree in education. Yet that did not matter that much. Students from three high schools hated them leaving and they are still remembered as good teachers for us. Their majors were not a qualification for teaching, but their attitudes were. They tried to teach using American techniques, showed American culture and learned Korean culture as well. Yes, it was a mutual action, which could open the minds of even some of the most close-minded Koreans. They memorized many of the Korean students’ names, which I am sure can be perfectly difficult. They believed in the Koreans and that made Koreans believe them, too. That amplified the efficiency of education. About a year ago, my friend Michael, who is also a native English speaker, came to Korea. The purpose of his visit was to travel, but he found it interesting to stay longer than he planned. Even more interesting is the fact that he got a job as an English teacher tutoring here. However, he was a web designer in London. Do you perhaps think I am going to contradict him? No, I am not. I know Korean students need conversational partners and the number of native speakers is not that satisfactory. We need people like Michael who can speak English, with English thinking. That is what we want when it comes to high schools. The qualification itself is very ambiguous. The most important qualification is the readiness of those teachers.

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