THE South Korean Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), in elementary and secondary schools, noted in a recent report that early English education helps children improve their Korean language ability, The Korea Times has reported.
According to the report, a child’s study of English at an early age contributes to his/her acquisition of the mother tongue. Statistics demonstrate that those who start studying English early show higher scores in Korean language tests.
Early in 1997, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development of South Korea lowered the age of beginning English study from the first year of junior high to the third year of elementary school when it saw the need for early English education.
In 2006, the ministry designated 50 elementary schools across the country as English education trial sites. The schools taught first and second-grade elementary students English from the autumn term. The ministry’s decision was also aimed at strengthening early English education as part of a human resources development project from 2006 to 2010.
However, the plan for early English education caused controversy. More than 10 civic groups raised questions about the early introduction of English classes. “The ministry’s plan to expand English classes for younger children who are supposed to first acquire their mother tongue might make them confused in learning the language, leading to a language identity disorder,” one civic group said.
To address this question, KICE, last June, sampled 559 students from the experimental schools and 557 of their counterparts from general schools to compare Korean language test scores of the two. According to the results, first-grade students at the experimental schools scored an average 2.17 points higher than those from other schools. Also, second-grade students studying English scored 1.79 points higher than their peers on average.
In addition, KICE showed the efficiency of early English education programs through another survey.
The research center tested about 1,600 pupils from the test schools and normal schools with the “Young learners English Tests” organized by the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, the purpose of which was to assess the English of children between the ages of 7 and 12. Statistics showed that the former students got 1.4 points more than the latter.
Early English education is attracting more attention by having an impact on Korean society. Some Koreans take it as something good based on their own experiences while others doubt whether only English and not other secondary languages that works.
