A comparison of class activities led by teachers in English kindergarten : Korean children's attitudes

This study explores the issues related to the comparison of native English teachers and Korean English teachers, in the context of children's English education in a private language institute, Smarty English Institute, in Seoul, Korea. Specifically by analyzing class activities led by native and Korean English teachers as well as a full bilingual English teacher, I investigate the strengths and weaknesses of class activities led by English teachers whose first languages are different. I challenge the wide-spread notion in Korea that native English speakers are inherently better English teachers. I offer an holistic portrait of the activities in Kindergarten language classrooms in a private language institute in Korea from the diverse perspective of Korean teachers, parents, legislators, and administrators. I used participant observation of classrooms and interviews with teachers and children as the main tools of data collection. I examined the class activities in terms of the communicative interactions between teachers and children, the relevance of the class activities to the children's interest, and their authenticity. Based on this analysis of class activities, I also present recommendations for improved English education, particularly teacher education programs customized for the teachers' needs and their differing levels of English proficiency as well as more specialized curricula for native English teachers and Korean English teachers