The aim of this paper is to find out the current English education for the North Korean students(called as 'se-ter-min') who are enrolled in alternative schools in South Korea. They tend to find it difficult to learn English for various reasons, some ...
The aim of this paper is to find out the current English education for the North Korean students(called as 'se-ter-min') who are enrolled in alternative schools in South Korea. They tend to find it difficult to learn English for various reasons, some of which I tried to identify here through a series of interview and survey.
Survey has shown that many of North Korean students did not have an opportunity to get their elementary education when they were in North Korea, and they usually had to stay long in other countries before finally coming to South Korea. Thus, these learner characteristics should be considered when English is taught. When it comes to their learning characteristics, English has been the most difficult subject amongst other subjects. Even though they prefer Communicative Language Teaching, the teaching method targeted for them revolves around Grammar-Translation Method. Their aim of studying English has been also limited to passing a qualification examination for middle school and getting a high school diploma. So students tend to recognize English as one of subjects for the test instead of English as a foreign langage itself. In addition, survey also revealed that North Korea's political climate, an anti-American sentiment and a feeling of insecurity to South Korea settlement, have an impact on their English studying.
Hence, it is strongly recommended to tailor English teaching method to their needs, which takes into account their set of beliefs and experiences that might have had an impact on their studying English. Tailored teaching methods to their needs should be developed, and the teachers need to be trained to utilize such methods.