11page

T H E i n B o X Re: EfL education (October 2014) The article doesn’t mention how the public school sys- tems couldn’t make good use of their NETs (native Eng- lish-speaking teachers). I have worked at a number of hag- wons and a public school. I put my all into my teaching at hagwons (private educational institutes) and I think that my teaching helped the students a great deal. I could actually see them improve! (But) I felt next to useless at the public school. Despite having a lot to offer, I couldn’t help much due to the curriculum, the system itself (widely varied levels of students in one class, infrequent English lessons, study- ing with different English teachers on different days of the week) and due to social pressures by certain co-teachers. Like hagwons, public schools are not consistent though, and I’m sure that every native teacher will have had a dif- ferent experience. This article tells an important truth: If Korean students are not from rich families, learning English is nearly impossible. These problems do exist but this is also a symptom of the Suneung (university entrance) test system, and the desire to get into one of only a few top universities whose prestige comes not from the level of education that they offer, but the social connections. It’s related to the fact that Korea is dominated by large conglomerates and that midsized com- panies cannot provide decent salaries or working conditions, etc. The fact that parents spend so much on English classes and that getting this kind of education is really difficult or impos- sible for many is a big problem. However, focusing only on this issue is not going to solve the problem when it is largely a symptom of other unaddressed problems. Heather Lynne Kwon, via Facebook Re: Adoptees’ right to their records; A silent sacrifce, a human cost (September 2014) On Oct. 20, 2014, 12:32PM, 뿌리의집 (@KoRoot_2011) Tweeted: @groovekorea thanks for your last issue about overseas adoptees and single moms! More information KoRootIsMore: indiegogo.com/projects/koroot-is-more- than-a-guest-house-for-adoptees To submit a letter, email opinion@groovekorea.com