Prospects of Compulsory English Education in South Korea: What Went Wrong and What Could Be Rectified

PISA Test Result

The PISA is administered every 3 years, and so, the 2015 test results have the most current data at the time this research was conducted. As illustrated in Figure 1, the two graphs in blue and orange, respectively, indicate deviances between OECD countries’ averages and Korea students’ scores. Although Korean students’ performance significantly declined in 2015 compared to other years, Korean students’ average scores in science, mathematics, and reading are still clearly higher than OECD countries’ average scores.

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Figure 1.

PISA test results in science, mathematics, and reading in OECD countries in 2015. This figure demonstrates the OECD average value (orange line) and Korea’s performance value (blue line).

TIMSS Test Result

TIMSS’s (2015) assessment includes “fourth and eighth grade students’ mathematics and science achievement data as well as the student, parent, teacher, school, and curricular background data for the 47 participating countries and 6 benchmarking entities” (p. 8). As this article centers on middle school compulsory education, I will sort out eighth grade student data only. This section comprised two test results: mathematics and science. The figures show the mathematics and science rankings for the top 10 scoring countries out of 47 participating countries. Figure 2 indicates the top 10 countries ranked in mathematics scores. Singapore places first, with an average scale score of 621. Korea is placed second, with an average score of 606, and the United States is placed 10th, with an average score of 518.

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Figure 2.

TIMSS test results in mathematics for eighth grade around the world. This figure illustrates the top 10 countries’ rankings. Korea is ranked second.

Figure 3 displays the top 10 countries ranked in science. Singapore is in first place again, with an average scale score of 597. Korea is ranked fourth, with a score of 556. The United States is 11th, with a score of 530.

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Figure 3.

TIMSS test results in science for eighth grade around the world. This figure illustrates the top 10 countries’ rankings as well as the U.S.’s score. Korea is ranked fourth.

TOEFL Test Results

ETS, the organization that directs the TOEFL test, publishes the test and score data summary annually and so I will utilize the 2017 test and score data in this article. The TOEFL test consists of four sections: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. This article focuses mainly on the speaking section, as Koreans score lowest on this section (see Figure 4). ETS (2018) suggests,

all examinees, classified by geographic region and native country may be useful in comparing the performance on the TOEFL iBT test of a particular student with that of other students from the same native country and with that of students who speak the same language. ETS, creator of the TOEFL test, does not endorse the practice of ranking countries on the basis of TOEFL scores, as this is a misuse of data. (p. 13)

Thus, Figure 4 does not indicate rankings of the countries and only test results will be compared within this article for the TOEFL. Figure 4 data are classified by native countries (first column from left) in Asia as well as scores of reading (second column from left), listening (third column from left), speaking (fourth column from left), writing (fifth column from left), and total scores (the last column). For example, Korea’s scores are reading (22), listening (21), speaking (20), writing (21), and total (83).

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Figure 4.

TOEFL iBT test results in 2017 by geographic region and native country. First column shows countries in Asia, second column is reading score, third column is listening score, fourth column is speaking score, fifth column is writing score, and the last column is total score.

Given the data of Korea in Figure 4, the aggregated value of the speaking section for Asian countries is 598. To get the average speaking score for Asian countries, the aggregate value, 598, is divided by 29 (the number of countries where the scores are available) to get an average score of 20. Thus, in comparing the speaking section of TOEFL in Asian countries, Koreans are performing at just average compared to other countries.

Findings From the Test Results

Unlike Korean students’ superb performances on the TIMSS and PISA, Koreans’ performance in TOEFL, especially in the speaking section, is merely average among Asian countries. There is a linguistic discrepancy between English and Asian languages such as Korean (Butler, 2004; Hu & McKay, 2012; Song, 2011), and this discrepancy could be a possible justification as to why Koreans are not performing as favorably as on the TIMSS and PISA. However, 16 other Asian countries shown in Figure 4 scored above the average value of 20. Based on TIMSS and PISA results, Korean students have proven that they are intelligent and capable. Furthermore, the Korean government has imposed compulsory English education starting from elementary school. Despite the policy of early English education as well as English immersion by the Lee administration in 2008, Koreans’ English-speaking capabilities are improving rather slowly. The question that arises here is whether there are critical pedagogical issues within English classes in Korea or if any other problems persist.

Policy and Practice Regarding English Education

In the Korean educational system, one school year is divided into two semesters. The first semester lasts for 6 months, from March to the end of August, and the second from September to the end of the February. In middle school (seventh to ninth grade), classes usually consist of seven 45-min lessons a day, with a 30-min block before school for self-study and sometimes an extra block after school for additional instruction (MOE, 2018). English classes are scheduled 3–5 hr per week. According to surveys conducted by the MOE, Korean teachers, students, and parents are satisfied with the native speaker English teacher (NSET) and Korean teacher co-teaching systems. NSETs can come from seven English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and South Africa. Due to these positive outcomes, MOE plans to place more NSETs in more schools. Moreover, some school districts individually employ native English speakers and make efforts to provide better English education on their own (Jo, 2008). Consequently, MOE and school districts in Korea are in need of more qualified native English-speaking teachers. With the expanding English programs and co-teaching system, English education has the opportunity to flourish.

With the increasing need to improve the English curriculum, the MOE has announced that they would gradually invite more and more native speakers of English to every elementary and middle school. As a way of improving communication skills in English, MOE has recruited and placed NSETs at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in Korea. Currently, the number of NSETs is increasing annually, according to the English Program in Korea (EPIK, 2018) and Jo (2008). It was assumed that the assignment of native English speakers would improve the quality of English being taught in schools and decrease the chance of miseducation for students if taught by nonnative speakers. NSETs manage English classes jointly with Korean homeroom teachers or Korean English language teachers and teach English conversation together. Such a co-teaching system gives students many opportunities to talk with native speakers of English, helping them psychologically overcome their personal fear of foreign languages (Canh & Renandya, 2017; Cook, 2016). In this way, students can get real-life experience in speaking English with native speakers and are able to hear English in its original form. They can also benefit from asking questions about the English speaker’s culture, as learning about the culture and reasons behind the way things are said or why words mean what they do can lead to a better understanding and utilization of the language. That was the intention of the program; however, the quality of English education was not necessarily improved by the presence of these native speakers.

Insufficient Instructional Time

Even though English education starts from elementary school, the instructional time assigned for English is not sufficient. According to MOE (2018) and Jo (2008), elementary school English is only an hour or 2-hr lesson a week, a total of only 34–68 hr a year. The lessons in middle and high school consume 3–5 hr a week (102–170 hr a year). Time spent in English lessons in both elementary and middle school is far too short for students to be fully acquainted with English. Cummins (2015) argues the distinction between basic interpersonal conversational skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) and analyzes that different time periods are required to obtain BICS and CALP. Unfortunately, 3–5 hr a week of English instructional time is not sufficient for CALP, although it might be possible to achieve BICS in that allotment of instructional time. As the TOEFL test is more geared toward academic proficiency, 3–5 hr a week of English seems a bit short. Even though Korea started efforts early to increase English education for the sake of globalization, the impact is unfortunately minimal and has not put them ahead compared to other countries.

Although Korean people have learned English for at least more than 6 years by the time they are out of middle school, few of them manage to speak English well. For one thing, English is not a second language but rather a foreign language for Koreans. That is, there are few chances to speak English because English is not used frequently in daily life (Jo, 2008). As its use is not widespread, it is not necessary to learn English to survive in Korea and so there is little pressure or urgency in learning it. The placement of more native English speakers through NSET could help increase exposure to English; however, the given instructional time is not ample enough to obtain CALP.

Eligibility of NSETs

The MOE in Korea oversees the English teaching position program in Korea called EPIK. According to EPIK (2018), the minimum eligibility for becoming an English teacher in Korea is that the applicant must:

As (2) and (3) illustrate, MOE does not require applicants who have completed a TESOL certificate or majored in English education. There is no minimum requirement either for applicants who completed courses in regard to second language acquisition (SLA), English education, or TESOL. Although EPIK does give incentives to applicants who have a Master’s degree in TESOL, a Bachelor’s degree in English education, or a certificate in TESOL/TEFL, any citizens from the seven listed countries who hold a Bachelor’s degree and a good command of the English language can still become a teacher in Korea. Although an EPIK teacher is an assistant teacher in an English classroom, more systematic hiring procedures must be employed to ensure a higher quality of teachers.

Many EPIK teachers are recently graduated from college without prior teaching experience (EPIK, 2018). NSETs may not be good teachers right after the EPIK orientation, may not be able to communicate effectively with their co-teacher or understand Korean culture, or may be unable to control a classroom (Copland & Neokleous, 2011; Garton, 2013; Jo, 2008). Just because someone speaks English does not guarantee they can explain English grammar. Based on my personal experience learning English as a second language, the teachers will often answer questions with, “I’m not sure why it is that way, it just is,” which is an unhelpful answer to students. There needs to be a balance in a teacher’s skill in English and teaching, and the teacher should be confident in both. Also, the view that only native speakers are effective at teaching English needs to change (Canh & Renandya, 2017).

Figure 5 is the August 2018 EPIK orientation schedule (EPIK, 2018). The successful EPIK applicants who complete the orientation are qualified to teach as an assistant English teacher. During the total 9-day orientation from August 20 through August 28, the actual orientation times allotted for English pedagogy are 180 min (3 hr) on August 23, 360 min (6 hr) on August 24, and 270 min (4.5 hr) on August 27 (see Figure 5). In the computation of pedagogical orientation hours, lesson planning and lesson demo preparation are omitted as it involves more self-preparation without lecture. On August 23, two lecture times are not included in the total hours because they regard housekeeping information such as EPIK duties, regulations, and networking. For the EPIK applicants who do not have prior knowledge of teaching English or SLA or TESOL, simply completing the total 13.5 hr of lesson planning lecture will qualify them to teach English to Korean students.

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Figure 5.

August 2018 EPIK Orientation Schedule.

Due to the fact that EPIK applicants can become a teacher without any prior experience in teaching English, TESOL, or SLA, there should be a longer time period dedicated to training the new teachers. More advanced training could help educate them on TESOL, English, and SLA educational practices and guide them through preparation of sample lesson plans. As these teachers likely have never taught Korean students before as well, then they need to be taught what to expect of their students and be informed how to push the students the way they are pushed in mathematics and science. The more training these new teachers get, the more prepared they will be to teach Korean students.

Need for Teacher Evaluation

In a survey taken by the MOE, 77.4% of the Korean respondents agreed there is great need for a teacher evaluation system to ensure their students are getting a quality education (MOE, 2018). Every year, the performance of teachers is evaluated carefully by vice principals and principals of their respective schools (Choi & Park, 2016; Jo, 2008). Teachers are only evaluated by those who supervise them, those who know their work well; however, only performance outcomes are measured. Therefore, the Ministry is preparing a new program to evaluate teachers that is more fair and objective and also evaluates the school system so as to hold principals and other staff more accountable as well. These reports will help promote teachers or penalize them for a lack of training and improvement. The new program pushes for teachers to seek out their own training and focus on continuously improving themselves, learning new techniques or skills that help them adapt to changes from internationalization or other trends in society. Teachers should be held accountable if they do not take appropriate steps to provide the best education they can, as that is their job (Jo, 2008). There is also a push to include student and parent evaluations as well as peer evaluations to gain a wide variety of voices and opinions that can help the teacher improve themselves. Teachers will be motivated to get more training to get good reviews due to the fact that they can move up in status by receiving positive evaluations. If the teachers improve, the quality of education in Korea will improve with them.

Insufficient Instructional Time

According to MOE (2018), the English lessons in middle school consume 3–5 hr a week (102–170 hr a year). Ultimately, adding more or longer English classes to the curriculum is optimal to improve students’ English proficiency, based on the CALP theory (Cummins, 2015). However, this modification would require a lot of time and cost to revise curriculums through rigorous pilot studies performed by the MOE. Another way to impose more English instructional time is to not restrict it to English-only classrooms and lessons. The English immersion program has tried to bring English to math and science classrooms, but perhaps students would benefit from using English in classes that relate to their hobbies or interests such as art or music. English native speakers can assist in many different classes so that different kinds of English can be taught in various contexts.

Eligibility of NSETs

Some NSETs do have prior English teaching experience or have a degree in English education, SLA, or TESOL. Thus, a one-size-fits-all type of EPIK orientation could be divided into two tracks: one for teachers with experience in teaching English or a relevant degree and one for teachers with no English-related teaching experience or higher education. The former orientation group has already acquired basic knowledge of SLA or TESOL, so the orientation should be more centered on teaching demos and adapting to Korean culture. The latter group’s orientation must heavily emphasize theories and concepts of SLA and TESOL as they have no prior knowledge and may need a longer orientation period.

The MOE should change the minimum requirements to apply for EPIK. As of 2018, the eligibility to apply to EPIK is to be a national of the seven English-speaking countries with any bachelor’s degree. The MOE does grant monetary incentives for those who have degrees in TESOL, SLA, or English education. Rather than giving incentives, the MOE should change the eligibility to require a degree in the relevant disciplines if they want to improve the quality of English education. As every successful EPIK applicant would have knowledge of TESOL and SLA concepts, the current orientation could focus on multiple teaching demos and lesson plan reviews to allow teachers to receive useful feedback from experienced teachers. According to EPIK (2018), new teachers currently only receive feedback from the one teaching demo during orientation.

Another EPIK requirement is to have “a good command of the English language.” It is questionable and vague to say someone has “a good command” of English when speaking about education. Some candidates could be native speakers who can hold conversations in English but have improper grammar skills. There should be more tangible and quantifiable ways to measure the English proficiency of the English teacher candidate. For example, asking the EPIK applicants to submit a transcript of an official English test or conducting preliminary online or offline interviews.

Need for Teacher Evaluation

Becoming a teacher in Korea is a difficult and competitive process (MOE, 2018), yet the EPIK brings over inexperienced teachers who are only qualified based on their native English and a bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Meanwhile, Korean teachers are pushed to continuously improve themselves and do more and more training throughout their careers, as well as perform exceptionally on evaluations by their peers, principals, students, and parents. If the NSETs were held to the same standards and put through the same amount of training, then the quality of English education would improve (Jo, 2008). Native speakers are sometimes unable to explain certain things about grammar because they have never questioned why things are the way they are. Korean teachers who have learned English as a second language are able to explain grammar concepts from the perspective of second language learners just like their students, but do not have confidence in their speaking abilities and may not be able to explain cultural nuances of phrases and idioms (Canh & Renandya, 2017). Together both teachers can learn to effectively co-teach, but if the native speaker is not trained as a teacher, there will be many difficulties to overcome first related to simply learning how to teach and manage a classroom.

The MOE implements various policies to improve the quality and capacity of its Korean teachers. To improve the quality and professionalism of teachers, the Ministry provides training programs through education offices and universities instead of solely at teaching colleges. They also perform quality assurance checks of the training systems through evaluations. However, these strict regulations on teachers do not apply to the NSETs brought in for the co-teaching system (EPIK, 2018; Jo, 2008). This reveals a more relaxed attitude toward NSET performance compared to Korean teachers that appears to result in a relaxed English education. If the NSET positions required the same competitive qualifications and continuous training as well as constant evaluation and feedback, the English education in Korea would improve dramatically. By changing the attitude toward English native speakers and holding them accountable for their teaching skills as well as English skills, the overall English education system in Korea will be improved.