저소득층 아동 대상 기초 국어 능력 향상 교육의 현황과 전망 - 국립국어원 언어 소외 계층 지원 사업을 중심으로 - = Status and Prospects of Primary Korean Education on Children from Low-income Families - Focusing on providing Korean language education for the underprevileged: The National Institute of the Korean language -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The National Institute of the Korean Language was established for the purpose of developing the Korean language, improving the language-life of the people and administering research activities. The Korean Language Culture Academy, founded in 1992, operates to help people succeed in the correct and educated language-life and spreading of correct linguistic rules. The purpose of the article is as follows: first, it is to introduce the mission of the academy; second, we will have a look at the status and prospects of primary Korean education on children from low-income families. Last but not least, we will also review the challenges and solutions from the current system. When it comes to “Korean education,” most of the times it refers to the education within the regular school system. However, there are limitations in the current curriculum to cover the primary Korean education and this could bring about uneven level of reasoning and communication skills. This is the main reason that the National Institute of the Korean Language develops primary education contents on vocabulary, basic grammar and writing for children from low-income families to provide a quality Korean education. The program is currently run by every regional child-care centers, and the Korean Language Culture Academy strives to train professional Korean teachers along with research on developing learning materials. Even though the improvement on Korean language skills is considered as a matter of national importance, researches from either the National Institute of the Korean Language or the Korean Language Culture Academy have so far focused mainly on grammar and vocabulary. Recognizing the significance of Korean language skills as means of communication, a state-level support on education for the underprevileged children is undoubtedly essential. The National Institute of the Korean Language will therefore promote the program as providing necessary education is not only the responsibility of a single household, but a duty of a government.