THE Korean government is tired of seeing forged academic qualification scandals involving foreign English teachers headlining the local media. So they are considering several proposals which educators believe will bring long-overdue reforms to Korean EFL industry.
According to Paul Robertson of www.EFL-law.com, a consortium of consumer rights and protection lawyers working in Northeast Asia who provide legal advice to foreign teachers in the region, the Korean EFL industry is an "unregulated mess" crying out for reform.
"The whole Korean EFL market is in desperate need of an overhaul," he said. "Whether it's the teachers themselves, their qualifications, the visa system or language institutes, drastic changes are needed."
If the Korean government remains on track with its plan to reform the EFL industry, what changes can teachers already employed or considering offers of employment expect?
For a start, a congressional oversight committee is considering a proposal which would see E2 visas, the main language teaching authorization, issued only to applicants who possess an accredited TESOL qualification from a Korean government-approved educational institution.
Applicants without an approved TESOL qualification would be granted an E2 visa on condition that they enrol in an approved TESOL course at an accredited Korean institution and complete their studies before the year is out. Teachers failing to meet this requirement would not be allowed to renew their visas.
It is envisaged that this reform will not only lift basic teaching standards in classrooms across the country, but sound the death knell for online diploma mills selling worthless EFL qualifications.
Steve Downing, an English instructor at Hallym University, supports the proposal. He calls on the government to implement higher professional standards for English teachers in Korea.
"Teachers need professional accreditation before working in Korea," he said. "There are just too many dubious teachers at the institute level who end up filtering through to higher-level positions on the basis of experience. These people really need to be cleaned out."
Derek Roberts of Maple Leaf Recruiting argues that such changes would help "weed out" people who aren't serious about the EFL profession. "These changes will create a better EFL market for everyone involved, especially the teachers and the students," he said.
