Apartment complexes will be able to build English immersion zones and facilities for residents from next year, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday.

The English-only zones, however, should operate as non-profit facilities, it said. The revised bill comes as many other existing English immersion villages are suffering huge losses.

A recent government report found that some 20 of these villages run by provincial governments lost nearly 20 billion won last year. However, it is also questionable whether residents can find appropriate staff and efficiently run the facilities.

The government plans to advise municipal governments to overhaul English village construction plans due to the growing losses and low quality of the programs.

————–

The apartments that I’m in already have one. I remember that they ‘borrowed’ a teacher from a local hagwon, last year. Quite certain he wasn’t on an F2. I’d imagine that these gigs will not be able to get E2 permission to work at another location. But if you are on an F2 or F4, I’d suggest going directly to the big sprawling apartment showrooms that developers have in the newer parts of your city and offering to work in the english center. Big bucks, I reckon.

Source: Korea Times

Disney (NYSE: DIS) established its first English learning center in Shanghai on October 14 and plans to expand its education business across China after 2009, reports China Business News quoting Disney English studies senior vice president and general manager Tang Anzu. The company is also considering testing the new business in Korea, Brazil and Russia in the future, said Tang.

The Shanghai center targets children ages two to ten with its seven Disney-themed classrooms. Maintaining an average class size of 12, the school can serve up to 950 students, said the report.

They’ve already broken ground in Shanghai and are sniffing butts with Korea. Which means….*whips out calculator and mumbles audibly*…if I add greed to the 5th degree, subtract impatience, and…carry the lack of due diligence….hmmm…looks like they’ll be opening up in Gangnam by the end of the year.

Source:JLM Pacific Epoch

More on the planned tuition disclosure agenda that the government is planning to roll out. A source within the Daegu Foreign Language Hagwon Association says that a lot of schools are worrying and the Association, in addition to hagwon associations throughout the country, are feverishly bribing lobbying the federal government to relax on this critical issue.

What’s at stake is a big tightening of hagwon revenue and tightening profit margins. The government is setting a maximun tuition cap of 70,000won/mnth per student. And under the proposed law, when private institutes advertise, they will also need to include their tuition fees in the ad. In the event that they are later revealed to be over-charging more than their advertised rate, they will see heavy fines and repeat offenders will have their education license revoked and will not be allowed to re-apply for any such kind of license in the future. So given that not very many foreign language hagwons in the country are charging 70,000won or less per student (save for, maybe, the odd GnB with 1 foreign teacher, etc..), a lot of hagwons are freaking out. They are currently lobbying to increase the maximum tuition fee, but that’s still not going to be enough for all the ones that are charging rates of 200-300,000/mnth per student or even the 500,000-1,000,000/mnth rates that many Gangnam outfits are billing. Stay tuned.

Tuition prices at hagwon or private cram schools will be posted on the Web sites of each regional education office as soon as next year. An official from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Monday that the education authorities plan to obligate hagwon to disclose their fees online in order to prevent overcharging.

He said the ministry is working on revising the law dealing with the establishment and operation of hagwon. If the bill is passed at the National Assembly, the revised law will take effect from next year.

The education authorities expect the open data will enable parents to reasonably choose hagwon and will efficiently prevent them from being overcharged.

Earlier, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education introduced a system to calculate “appropriate fees’’ using data on teacher’s salary, revenue and other expenditure. The system will officially begin operation in December and hagwon will not be allowed to charge parents above the “appropriate’’ fees released on the Internet.

Source: Korea Times

The government said Sunday it will expand the education budget to develop training programs for English teachers and recruit more native English-speaking teachers. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced Sunday that it will spend a total of 19.5 billion won ($15.9 million) next year, up 12.2 billion won from a year earlier, for English education programs at elementary and secondary schools.

Under the plan, the ministry will recruit more native English speakers as well as ethnic Koreans for the “Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK)’’ program, which was introduced last April to give opportunities for students in rural areas to learn English from native English speakers.

Also, the ministry will introduce intensive English training programs for state-run universities specialized in fostering elementary school teachers across the country and distributing English teaching manuals to school teachers.

Meanwhile, more than half of English teachers are opposing the introduction of “Teaching English in English (TEE)’’ teachers, planned by the government for next year. The government plans to recruit 23,000 TEE teachers, who will conduct classes only in English, over the next five years.

Korea’s largest teachers group, the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Association said Sunday that 56.7 percent of English teachers negatively responded to the TEE teacher plans in a recent survey, while 24.9 percent said they need TEE teachers.

Among those respondents against “English-only” teachers, 46 percent said it would bring unqualified teachers to schools and 21 percent said current teacher levels are already enough for English education. The teachers’ group questioned 425 English teachers at elementary and secondary schools nationwide between April and May.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr

Source:Korea Times

South Korea’s visa policy has been accused of favoring “gyopo’’ or ethnic Korean English teachers over other foreign nationals, with this favoritism creating loopholes in the system making it easier for those with criminal and drug records to go undetected. However, the government has indicated it has no immediate plan to change visa rules.

Many foreign nationals and operators of language institutes or hagwon claim that the government should apply the same visa screening rules to ethnic Korean English teachers as those applied to other foreigners seeking E-2 visas.

“The Korean immigration authorities require native English speakers to submit criminal records and health checkups, but gyopo are exempted from the requirements. Korean Americans, Korean Canadians and other foreign nationals of Korean descent are not always clean from drugs and diseases,’’ said Choi Chang-jin, the director at the Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies. “It’s an unfair visa policy in the eyes of other foreigners.’’

He said he has witnessed some English instructors who were once expelled from Korea return to the country with other visas such as an F-2 or F-4, taking advantage of this system.

Under the Korean visa rules, native English speakers seeking E-2 visa are obliged to submit police background checks. However, foreigners who are ethnic Koreans or married to Korean nationals are exempt from the requirements as they are eligible for F-4 and F-2 visas, respectively.

Most other foreign English teachers call it “discriminative.’’

“E-2 visa regulations are not reasonable. In fact the rules promote racism,’’ said a Canadian who is teaching English in Gyeonggi Province, asking not to be named.

Even some Korean Americans also believe the rules have flaws.

“I know of some gyopo here with criminal records holding F-4 visas. They are teaching at hagwon. Korean visa rules favoring certain foreigners by race is definitely unfair,’’said a Korean American who is teaching English at an elementary school under the state-run English program with an E-2 visa.

A former English teacher in Cheonan also told The Korea Times that he was working with several unqualified ethnic Korean teachers.
“They are all Canadian-Koreans who have never been to college. You might want to check their backgrounds in Canada for drugs,’’he said.

Some foreign teachers have been asked to provide medical and security checks even though by law they do not have to. Keef Oxford who is on an F-2 visa (married to a Korean) was asked to undergo these checks even though they are required for an E-2 only. “I was asked to undergo a medical, dental and police record checks at my own cost,’’ said Keef. “I was outraged and asked about my Korean colleagues but was told they were exempt, so I refused.’’

Regarding the complaints, the Korea Immigration Service said it was “reasonable discrimination under the Immigration Law.’’

Kim Tae-soo, an immigration official said, “It’s our authority and policy to favor ethnic Koreans. We know there might be unqualified ethnic Koreans teaching English here, but you also need to understand there is no 100 percent perfect system. Other European countries also favor to their own people.’’

However, many experts point out the visa system is still unfair. “It is discriminative and should be revised as ethnic Koreans who gave up Korean citizenships are obviously foreigners,’’ said Lim Hyun-chin, a sociology professor at Seoul National University. “Moreover, I am not sure how we can tell ethnic Koreans from those who are not. For example, Singaporeans using a family name `Lim’ could originate from Korea but there is no way to prove it,’’

The number of E-2 visa holders stood at 18,062 as of June, with F-2 and F-4 holders standing at 118,421 and 38,226, respectively, according to the Korean Immigration Service.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr

Source:Korea Times

Armed with the world’s fastest Internet and an even stronger desire to learn English, South Koreans are using the latest Web resources to master a language that is the economic and emotional focus of their education.

On any given day, students ranging from kids learning their alphabet to adults preparing for job interviews sign in on their Internet messengers, fire up their webcams and wait for English teachers to appear — from faraway continents.

They hope one-on-one chats with foreigners will help them fix pronunciation, get rid of native accents and feel more comfortable with a foreign language. The country’s official teaching methods, based on grammar exercises and vocabulary lists, have consistently failed to deliver such benefits.

South Korea’s average score in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is below the world average despite having the largest number of students taking the test.

“It is really nice to look at my English teacher through the computer screen and feel like having a chat with a new friend outside the country,” said Oh Sun-young, who takes a Web-camera English course on Skype with her Philippine instructor.

Web English is the latest hit in South Korea’s booming English education market, enabled by handy gadgets and widespread fiber-optics networks.

The new service, along with more traditional conversation courses offered by phone, is one of the fastest growing segments in South Korea’s private English education industry, which is estimated at 15 trillion won ($13 billion) a year — almost half of the country’s annual education budget.

About 150 to 200 companies are in the market offering phone and Web English tutoring.

“Students who are very inexperienced with English may initially find the classes challenging, but within three months, there is a tremendous improvement in most of the students’ speaking ability,” said Tara McKibben, a phone English tutor who has been teaching over seven years from the United States.

KT Corp, South Korea’s dominant fixed-line and broadband operator, provides a service called “Hello ET” cooperating with a South Korean English education company.

“We provide Web-cameras to our videophone English customers so that they can log on the website and have live chat with instructors,” said Kang Joo-hyun, a “Hello ET” spokeswoman.

One-on-one conversation in English is technically close to real-live talk, held in Web phone service such as Skype. A message board opens adjacent to the conversation browser, so that participants can check the spelling of a word or start writing if they struggle to understand each other.

Internet portal SK Communications runs “Spicus” which includes a job interview drill on a video-chat platform. Applicants hand out their completed English resume before the drill. An interviewer stages a simulation interview through webcam, looking through resumes, and later provides feedback on logical speaking and communication skills.

“Interviewers are former officials in human resources department of big U.S. (companies) such as IBM,” Ryu Hee-jo, a spokeswoman for SK Communications, said.

Good English test scores and speaking skills are considered an indispensable key for success in South Korea. In their quest for fluent English, a great deal of wealthy South Koreans simply flee their country’s school system and its rigid teaching methods.

South Korea ranks No. 1 in the number of international students in the United States, ahead of more populous India and China, according to U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.

However, for those who cannot afford thousands of dollars a month in learning English abroad or spare time for look for meeting arrangements, video chat at home fulfills their aspiration at much cheaper prices. A three-times-a-week Web English course can be covered for about 100,000 won a month.

Source:Reuters

Even before their inception, two proposed international middle schools are being used as vehicles to make irregular gains by private cram schools, or hagwon ― an indication that more illegalities are in store involving the Seoul elite schools.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it has caught 34 private hagwon producing false and exaggerated ads concerning the international schools.

“Many hagwon are advertising that international schools will strongly weigh English skills in their selection of students. As we have previously made clear, it’s totally wrong,” said Yang Ki-hoon, administrator of the office. “We will closely watch and punish hagwon that cheat parents with false information about the schools.’’

Among those inspected, two hagwon overcharged parents more than the standard fee set by the education office. They were suspended from operations and face tax audits. Other hagwon were disciplined for holding classes for middle school exams beyond regulated operating hours. The education authorities issued them warnings and correction orders.

The office has investigated 61 hagwon recently as the new international schools are already triggering overheated competition in the private education market, targeting rich parents who want their children to attend schools that conduct all classes in English.

Korea has seen education costs reach a record high of 15 trillion won ($15 billion) in the first half of the year. The new international schools are expected to provide a further boost to the private cram school industry.

The education office has allowed Younghoon Middle School and Daewon Middle School to transform themselves into international schools next March. The two schools in northern Seoul will each admit 160 students.

The two schools will shortlist applicants after screening them based on recommendations, academic competition awards, school records, interviews and group discussions. Then a lottery will finally select successful applicants. It said there will be no English tests even though all classes will be taught in the language.

Despite criticism from civic groups and progressive teachers groups, Kong Jeong-taek, superintendent of the education office, is pushing ahead with the plan for the schools. The education ministry has yet to express its official stance on the controversial issue.

Source:Korea Times

Primary and secondary schools nationwide will have roughly 2,700 English-only classrooms under a policy to strengthen public English language education.

More than 400 English classrooms will be set up at elementary schools this year, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Tuesday.

The classrooms will allow children to study English speaking and listening or read English books during or after their regular classes. Five elementary schools operated pilot English-only classrooms last year, and the Lee Myung-bak administration aims to expand such English-only classrooms to all schools by 2011. Due to the lack of budget, the ministry expects to initially build about 440 classrooms this year.

For middle and high schools, the government plans to establish some 2,300 classrooms for English education this year, with the aim to make all 5,200 middle and high schools have at least one classroom each in the near future.

“We’ll develop a manual for the design of the classrooms through discussions with teachers who have operated similar classes before, so that the rooms can be used for various programs, including small-group discussions or plays in which all students participate,” a ministry official said.

“We’ll collect good examples of English classroom operation and encourage other schools to adopt the models, so that more students can learn English through more enjoyable programs,” he said.

Source: Korea Times

Ewha Womans University will open a TESOL graduate school next March to meet the growing demand for English teachers.

“Our school has been prominent in English education and will lead Korea’s TESOL education with the new graduate school,’’ university President Lee Bae-yong told reporters at a press meeting to celebrate the second anniversary of her presidency, Monday. “We will also improve education in British and American culture for the teachers.’’

Under the plan, the oldest and biggest women’s school will recruit 40 students at the end of the year and work together with the University of London Institute of Education on dual degree programs. TESOL is short for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and TESOL programs have been recently spotlighted as one of the training courses for elementary and secondary school English teachers.

With the programs, the university aims to lead foreign language education in the country. Early this year, Ewha has introduced a training program for Chinese teachers in cooperation with Peking University, Ewha-Peking Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (EPTeCSOL), the first of such a kind among Korean universities.

Lee, 61, also said she wants to push for globalization projects. Ewha will set up eight more global centers in overseas universities. So far, Ewha has built centers in 12 cities including New York, Beijing, Boston, Tokyo and Hong Kong for networking. With the bases, it aims to send 60 percent of freshmen to sister universities as part of global outreach programs by 2010.

Currently, some 1,300 Ewha students are studying overseas, a sharp rise compared to 629 in 2006. It has about 3,500 foreign students under exchange programs, which has increased more than 7-fold compared to 695, two years ago. Meanwhile, Ewha will recruit more foreign faculty members to have them make up 10 percent of the total number of professors.

Source:Korea Times