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SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's president-elect yesterday proposed hiring thousands of teachers to beef up the teaching of English and improve the country's competitiveness. Mr Lee Myung Bak, set to take office on Feb 25, plans to overhaul the educational establishment and hire 23,000 English teachers by 2013. He intends to inject some 4 trillion won (S$6 billion) into English education. His team envisions that most English classes will be taught totally in English. For decades, almost all students have been taught English in Korean, with an emphasis on reading comprehension and grammar - a practice that produces few fluent English speakers. The policy has resulted in a huge demand for private English education among high school and college students and beyond since fluency in English can guarantee a job in South Korea.The English craze has also caused what critics call an 'English divide' in the country. The rich, who can give their children a good English education, help them land high-paying jobs, while the poor, who are deprived of an English education, slip down the social ladder. Mr Lee, a pragmatic former CEO of Hyundai Group's construction arm, has pledged to make sure all high-school graduates can conduct everyday conversations in English. 'Like it or not, English is one of the common languages in the world,' said the head of his transition team, Ms Lee Kyung Sook. 'National competitiveness is directly related to English education.' The plan opens the way for English-speaking professionals - such as former diplomats and businessmen stationed abroad - to become teachers. It also calls for exchange programmes for teachers from English-speaking countries and the hiring of college students, housewives and overseas Koreans fluent in English as assistant teachers. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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