Groping for a new English teaching strategy

Abstract

By the time a student reaches college, he or she has studied English for approximately ten years. As if that were not sufficient, English education continues for up to two additional years in college. The outcome of these years of arduous toil produces results that are far below expectations. Hence, English falls among students' most loathed subjects. The clear villain for this paltry progress is not the students but a victimising system. From the first year of junior high school through the freshman or sophomore years of college, English is monotonously taught with almost no variation whatsoever. The curriculum consists mostly of grammar and translation, in that order. Many teachers force rote memorisation of grammar on hapless kids while not even realising the proper methods of language acquisition. Because English in Korea begins in earnest in junior high school, pupils should first be exposed to spoken English, with an emphasis on listening and speaking, duly followed by reading and writing. More specifically, only after reviewing systematic structure and syntax should college students focus on reading and writing.