|
A new government-administered test of English proficiency for elementary and secondary students will be introduced during the second half of 2009, replacing international and domestic tests like the TOEFL, TOEIC and TEPS. The tests will assess speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development hinted the test may also replace the English section in the current annual College Scholastic Ability Test.
Sim Eun-seok, the director-general of the ministry¡¯s education policy division, announced the plan on Monday. He said new tests for adults will also be introduced in 2011. "It may be possible to replace the CSAT's English section with these tests starting in 2011 if the new tests for students prove successful."
 |
Jongno Street, where many private English institutes are located.
|
 |
|
The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will this year establish a tentatively named Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation to supervise and manage the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by officials from universities that wish to join in the program, the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation and Educational Broadcasting System and financed by the government. The ministry said it made the decision ¡°to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency exams and prompt schools to seek changes in their English education."
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC, a ministry official said. According to the ministry, the domestic private education market, including prep for the TOEFL and TOEIC, is valued at W400 billion (US$1=W923) annually including test fees.
But many parents have expressed concerns that the new test may be of little help in keeping Korean money in Korea or improving English education. Education experts are also pessimistic. A parent in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province said, "CSAT tests are already burdensome. So the government's plan to introduce a new kind of test is not welcome." An elementary school teacher in Seoul said, "The English proficiency tests are classified into several levels, including one for 1st graders. This means the government has decided to jump on the bandwagon of the frenzy for the English education for very young children.¡±
Another question is whether prestigious foreign universities will recognize the new tests. The reason so many Korean students take the TOEFL, whether it is any reflection of English proficiency or not, is that it is one of two tests recognized by universities worldwide. None of the English proficiency tests developed by Korean universities have been recognized by foreign universities yet, and it is likely that anyone wishing to study abroad will still have to sit the TOEFL.
The most favored domestically developed test is the TEPS developed by Seoul National University. Some 183,000 adults took it last year. But that pales in comparison with the number who took the TOEIC (1.7 million). The number of takers of other domestically developed proficiency exams in the country was several thousand each. Critics argue the government would do better to give more support to a sector where prestigious Korean universities have so far failed rather than jumping into the sector itself. An SNU professor warned the government against ¡°once again poking its nose into the autonomous field of education."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
