So far, I have really explored different techniques and issues that will be present in my future classroom as an ELL teacher. However, ESL is not just taught her in West Michigan, or even the expanded United States. No. Rather, English has become a global language to many–including Korea. Korea has a native language: Korean. Korea also has a business language: English. That being said, Korean students are trying to learn English as a means for success even in their own country. Many students are required to take an acquisition test upon enrollment of College or Work. Students are required to score adequately on the TOIEC test and are given so many incentives and hints from colleges, grade schools and future employers that the accuracy of the test is being questioned. Moreover, the increased use of technology is also overpowering the classroom and leaving teachers wondering if the internet is their aid….or their enemy.
To help eliviate all the confusion and fear of the future of ELL in the classrooms of Korea, author Tory S. Thorkelson gives a shout out to the local KOTESOL conference. He brags that the conference is known by worldwide teachers who come to learn the newest techniques, ideas and strategies to help ELL’s in the classroom–sounds a lot like the MCTE conference in Michigan.
I visited the website of KOTESOL just to see what all the famous fus was about. The webpage is very organized and includes a history and mission statement, as I have pasted below.
“Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages is a professional organization for teachers of English. Our main goals are to assist members in their self-development, and improve ELT in Korea. KOTESOL allows teachers to connect with others in the ELT community and find teaching resources in Korea and abroad through KOTESOL publications, conferences and symposia, and chapter meetings and workshops.”
Their 2009 Conference is dedicated to improving teachers to improve students learning. The website proudly presents that only 40% of their attendees are from Korea, all other teachers and interested parties fly in from outside countries. I trust the conference is as great as it claims to be because of its obvious size; however, it is hard to evaluate without flying out myself–something that is simply not feasible for a full-time mommy, wife and student!
So, to anyone who knows anymore about Korea and their great conference, feel free to better inform me! Has anyone attended this conference or know more about it? The website doesn’t list any sample forums, so it is hard to know the exact teachings without attending. But, it sounds like they are on to something on the other side of the big pond. Are our educators communicating with their educators?
Is this global language being treated as such with merging ideas and strategies from between ELL classrooms? I see now that my classroom here in West Michigan is only a small speck of ESL as a whole. I think it would be great to have a buddy in Korea to swap lesson plans and ploys with…and another door opens to infinite teaching resources!
“Future of English Language Teaching” by Tory S. Thorkelson.
Korea Times: November, 26, 2008
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/11/181_35124.html
I really enjoyed this article. I am extremely interested in anything about English becoming a more popular language over seas. It is crazy to think that so many other countries are so persistent about making sure that students are learning English. I keep hearing more and more about in the news and in blogs; this topic seems to be growing more and more popular throughout the class. I am curious as to whether or not anyone knows of other countries that are holding similar conferences about ESL. It seems to be becoming a more common news topic so I would think that many countries would be interested in holding similar meetings. I would like to think that eventually the U.S. would catch up with the rest of the world and begin encouraging students to learn foreign languages. I also like your idea of having a friend in another country that you could discuss methods and techniques for teaching. I think that would be a great way to add a new perspective to your teaching.
Never heard anyone hold up Korea as a model for how people should study English before! Are you confusing Korea with Holland or Denmark??
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