By Kim Hyun-bin



The South Korean government has banned after school English classes for first and second grade starting this year. Parents have been worried about their children falling behind and an increasing number of students have enrolled in English private education.



To take the financial burden off parents, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) unveiled a plan dubbed, 'Vitalize Seoul English Public Education Plan' aiming to reduce the English education gap between rich and poor districts and to provide an environment where students can naturally learn English.



The SMOE is planning to dispatch 561 native speakers of English as teaching assistants in all public elementary schools around the capital, starting next year.



Currently, there are 337 native teachers at 351 public elementary schools in Seoul. The native teaching assistants cover English classes during the day and afterschool as well as conducting English camps during school breaks. The SMOE plans to dispatch 100 additional native assistant teachers by 2019, who will be assigned to teach in 210 elementary schools.



"The parents have been fond of the program as their children have more access to foreign teachers," said Jeong Jin-kewon, a junior supervisor at the Seoul education office. "The classrooms in Seoul average 20 to 25 students per class. The students will have the opportunity to talk one on one with a native English speaking teacher during the day and in afterschool English courses."



The Seoul education office also plans to establish an "open English learning platform" that allows students to take advantage of diverse means to learn English free of charge, which will include games, videos, and storytelling.



The city has been cooperating with popular private enterprises so that all students can have access to the English study content, paid for by the Seoul education office. The move aims to help scores of parents and students who are not able to afford English content such as EBS Reading Club and Smart Wise Camp.



There are also changes in the English teaching method starting from third grade. Each public elementary school in the capital will receive one million won ($946) to change the third grade English curriculum to a more experience-based learning program. Fourth to sixth grade students will be allowed to visit Gapyeong English Education Center and English villages once a year, to help become more familiar with the language.



"After the government issued an afterschool English ban for first and second grade, many parents expressed concerns," said Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of Seoul education office. "English classes are first taught in third grade now. So we want to set up an environment where we can help students learn English in a more natural way."

