• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.523-537
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• 2009

This research aimed to understand the current status of early childhood education and to develop a future direction of early childhood English education. One group interview and three private interviews were conducted with 10 early education teachers to obtain in-depth understanding of the problems inherent in English education. The findings show that there is an internal conflict in the teachers regarding the value of English education in early childhood. In addition, there are external conflicts with the children the parents, the English teacher, the program director, and the government in English education. It is concluded that the early childhood educators felt an internal conflict regarding the current, inappropriate execution of early English education which is lacking a suitable educational plan including goals and practices. Furthermore, the teacher's preference for English also contributed to the internal conflict regarding the belief in early childhood English education. Secondly, the external conflicts included: English teachers with inadequate understanding of comprehensive early childhood development, parents who show excessive interest in early childhood English education without regard to childhood development, the reality that early childhood English education is mostly influenced by the attitudes of the program director without regard for the conflicts experienced by the early childhood teacher, and the politics of the government continuing to ignore the reality that early childhood English education ontinues in practice without being included in the national curriculum.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.497-506
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• 2004

This study examines the influence of early English education on children's bilingual language development to see whether the early exposure to English education affects children's competencies of both English and Korean. Based on this purpose, it attempts to examine whether it supports additive or subtractive bilingualism. The competencies of both English and Korean of the children with early English education were, therefore, compared with those of the children without it, and the relation between the two competencies was also studied. For this research, two different groups of children - one with 48 children who attend English kindergarten and the other with 60 children who attend only Korean kindergarten - took PPVT-R in Korean and in English each. The result shows that children with early English education have more English competency than those without it. No significant differences, however, are found in Korean competency between the two groups. The relation between the two competencies proves positive in children with early English education. It can thus be concluded that the effect of early English education is partially positive on children's language development, which may support the additive bilingualism that children's second language can improve without losing their native language competency. In addition, this result will be able to provide for us the direction and the guideline to the policy of foreign language education and early education.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.17-36
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• 2007

This study examined educational and career backgrounds of 180 early childhood English teachers and curricula of training courses for early childhood English teachers in continuing education centers across 6 areas in Korea. Data analyses showed that (1) curricula for early childhood English teachers consists of basic practical conversation, English teaching skills, understanding early childhood education and general English knowledge. (2) Most teachers are women between 30 to 40 years of age, university graduates with majors in English literature, English education and/or early childhood education with confidence in speaking in and listening to English. (3) They were satisfied with their retraining courses. (4) English pronunciation skill was not always related to English conversation skill, but clarity of pronunciation influenced teaching confidence.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.5
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• pp.191-218
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to investigate the actual conditions of preschool English education, and teachers' and parents' recognition of preschool early English education in Cheonan-city. Recently the importance of English education as an essential means for communication in the whole world is emphasized in our society. That atmosphere makes the elementary schools offer English as a subject in their curriculums, and also many preschool education institutes begin to teach English in their education courses. However before we begin to teach English as a subject in the preschool education, we need to survey the actual conditions of preschools and recognition of teachers and parents. The first part of this study is to survey the theoretical foundations of early English education; 1) the definition of early English education. 2) the situation of early foreign language education in foreign countries. 3) the relationship between the language acquisition and the cognitive development. The second part is to analyze the results of the Questionnaire which was distributed among 86 teachers and 103 parents in Cheonan-city preschools. As a conclusion, some suggestions will be given for the development of early English education in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1125-1133
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to explore the perception toward qualification of early childhood English teachers and their teachers' sense of efficacy. The samples consisted of 201 early childhood English teachers in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gyeonggi area. A sample of early childhood English teachers completed a series of questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed with t-test, F-test, correlation. The results showed that most teachers were women between 30 to 40 years old, university graduate with job experience less than 3 years. In addition, half of teachers in this study majored on English studies or early childhood education and child studies. This study found that early childhood English teachers thought themselves to be qualified as a English teacher and early childhood teacher. And they rated teachers' sense of efficacy to relatively high. There were differences on the scores of qualification of early childhood English teacher and teachers' sense of efficacy according to education level and major. And years of job experience were positively related with the perception of qualification of early childhood teacher and teachers' sense of efficacy.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.585-599
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• 2020

This study investigated children's interests in learning English, affected by educational activities in and out of institutes, and mothers' perceptions regarding early childhood English education. We recruited, 253 mothers of 3- to 5-year-old children in either general kindergartens or English immersion institutes. They answered questions on socioeconomic status, perceived interest in English by their children, their perceptions regarding early childhood English education, and English education outside institutes. In addition, 42 English teachers provided information within institutes such as class time per week, teacher-pupil rate, and language use policy during class. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 22 for frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The major findings are as follows. First, the two groups were in distinct learning environment. Second, mothers' perceptions and outside-institute activities were significantly different between the two groups. Third, the English interests of children at both institutes were influenced by mothers' worries and at-home English interactions. Fourth, education within institutes did not affect both group's English interests. Fifth, private education and socioeconomic status did not affect both group's English interests. Lastly, only the children's interests in English immersion institutes were affected by gender and mother's perceived necessities. Focusing children's interests, this study helps in understanding young children's affective aspects regarding learning English. The findings are expected to be a guideline for each home and institute to increase children's interest in learning English.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.629-647
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• 2012

This study explored what Korean college students, especially preservice teacher in early childhood education, experienced and how they constructed the meanings of experiences about their subject- matter course (early childhood mathematics education) taught in English. One cohort- 20 senior students- majoring in early childhood education in a 4-year university was participated in this study. Using action research method and narrative research method, data were analyzed. The findings were as follows: 1) preservice teacher experienced some difficulties to construrct professional knowledge through English. 2) They challenged to overcome these difficulties through active participation. 3) They got supports from instructor and peer group. 4) They accomplished the course with self-satisfaction. 5) They experienced the conflicts between social requirements and personal needs.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.3
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• pp.141-183
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• 1997

This paper aims to find out the current state of early English education in the world(including Korea) and to suggest its more desirable direction, with special reference to TEFL in elementary schools of Korea. In fact English teaching in elementary schools of Korea has been put into practice as an extracurricular activity since 1982. But in 1995 the Ministry of Education proclaimed a policy to establish a TEFL program as the regular course in elementary schools of Korea since 1997. In this connection, the writer surveyed several kinds of theories about early English education to verify the necessity and validity of Korea's elementary school English education. The logical result from these theories is that younger children are better equipped to learn foreign languages with efficiency than older children or adults. However, as most studies are based on logical inferences rather than on direct observation or experimental evidence, we are not sure that those theories are right. In this view, the writer put stress on the preparation of educational environments to establish a more desirable direction of early English education in Korea, since Korea's elementary school English education will be practiced under EFL environment, not ESL environment. The writer also pointed out some problems of educational finances, the curriculum development process and its content, teaching materials(textbooks and tapes), English teachers, teaching methods, evaluation, educational facilities. This paper concludes that we have to try to solve these problems to succeed in a TEFL program in elementary schools of Korea and suggests several things for a more desirable direction of Korea's elementary school English education.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.699-710
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• 2007

The study purposes to explore the effects of individual characteristics and home environments of children on their bilingual language aquisition, that is, to examine whether their English language competency is different from their Korean language competency depending on those variables. Thus English or Korean language competency of children who had had early exposure in English learning were studied in terms of child's individual characteristics such as age, gender, exposure period to English, intelligence, and experiences of visiting English-speaking countries, and home environments such as parental age, educational level, income level, their perceived English competency, their perceived significance of English and Korean language, and the frequency of using English at home. 72 children who went to English kindergarten were tested with Peabody Pictures Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) in Korean version and in English version respectively. The results show that child's intelligence and experiences of visiting English-speaking countries influence their Korean language competency. Also child's age, exposure period to English and experiences of visiting English-speaking countries influence their English language competency. Moreover their mother's educational background, father's English fluency, mothers' English fluency, and the frequency of using English at home influence child's English language competency, whereas any variables did not influence child's Korean language competency. Accordingly, child's English and Korean language competencies are related to each other.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.3557-3563
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• 2014

Korean National Level Kindergarten Curriculum does not include English education in regular class time. On the other hand, more than 90% kindergarteners are taught English. This study examined the Native English Teachers' (NETs') cultural aspects of their teaching at regular kindergartens in Korea. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with four NETs who were working at regular kindergartens in Korea, their partner Local English Teachers (LETs) and kindergarten principals. All interview data was transcribed and categorized based on the grounded theory method. The results showed that NETs are not required to be culturally prepared to teach in Korean kindergartens. Consequently, most of them do not consider the students' culture in their teaching activities. Moreover, Korean kindergartens, where research participants work, are not prepared well to invite NETs into their regular curriculum. These results will have significant implications on Korean kindergarten's English education practice.