English education in Korea

     Recently, learning English is essential and not optional. English has been important for getting job or being admitted to a university. For that reason, office workers as well as children decide to go to a foreign language institute or study abroad in order to learn English. Actually, I frequently saw lots of children around me who go abroad for study English. When I walk along the street, I can easily observe a greate number of English academies. But, why many people go abroad for learning English? I think, there are some problems of our country's English education.

     The main problem is the memorizing method of education. Now, almost English class in elementary school has been changed that native speakers teach students. But, when I was elementary or middle school student, almost English class was the memorizing method of education. It didn't apply English to our life and it was just for examination. Why the preposition have to be located here, why I use the infinitive here.....I didn't know that, I just memorized that. So, people around me interpreted English sentences on the paper proficiently, but when they talked with foreigners, they feel difficult including me. As well, we took exam hardly and enter the university. Afer that, we run into a blank wall of getting a job and we will start the memorizing method of study again for TOEIC. However, ultimately, the companies want a fluency in English and we go to an English conversation academy. But, we can't catch up the competition who went to study at a young age. I think this is a result of the memorizing method of education. So, some people say overseas study in early ages is bad, but overseas study in early ages is good, to my mind. That's because children can acquire a language fast than adults, so they will be able to save the time for study English later.

     With the time is changed, English has been important and necessary. So, we have to learn English. However, Korean education of English has a problem which is the memorizing method of education. Therefore, there should be an education that we can have conversation with foreigners than just education of entrance examination.