Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, has been running a’global multicultural specialization school’ for 6 years. Multicultural special classes and non-graduate Korean classes are held at the public education field. Photos of Seryu-cho’Friend Invite Day’ activity held in 2019. Provided by Suwon City
“Teacher. Thank you for teaching me Korean. Now I am good at dictation and I can read books to my heart’s content!” Teacher So Hye-min (in charge of multicultural education at Jidong Elementary School in Suwon) can’t forget the day Hao-wi (pseudonym) handed him a’Hangul letter’. Ten-year-old Hao-yu, who only spoke Chinese, was a mid-income student who entered the country without knowing’Hello’ as well as Giki, Nieun, and Digut. Hao-yu, who only spoke Chinese at a Korean school and spent only with Chinese friends, mastered dictation in a year and a half. Friendship also expanded. The freedom to speak, listen, write and read gave me confidence in my school life.
Seryu-cho Korean class classes in 2019. Provided by Suwon City
■ Multicultural students are the hardest at the beginning of the semester
Multicultural students are increasing year by year. The numbers tell. According to the’Basic Statistics of Education for 2020′, the number of multicultural students in elementary and secondary schools was 14,7378, an increase of more than 10,000 from the previous year. It has more than tripled from the time of the 2012 survey (4,6954 people). Even in the case of Jidongcho, a quarter of the enrolled students have a multicultural background. Multicultural students face the most difficulties in March-April, the beginning of the semester. It is difficult to make friends because of the unfamiliar environment and difficult language. In many cases, it is difficult to adjust to school and to keep up with the subject class. Most intermediate-entry students are admitted without even knowing a word of Korean. If this is a weakness and it is difficult to be interested in school life, it may lead to refusal to attend school. This is why it is important to be well guided and motivated at the beginning of the semester. In Korean society, adults should provide opportunities to steadily attend school and grow as members of society. In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, even in Korea, regardless of nationality or status of residence, it is possible to receive education once the fact of residence in Korea is confirmed. Children of foreign nationals and undocumented residents are legally eligible to receive education. In this situation, there are schools that have been providing specialized multicultural education for 6 years. Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Suwon Office of Education, Gyeonggi University and front-line elementary schools are working together to teach Korean language to multicultural students. It is not from the simple point of view of’learn Korean because you live in Korea’. This is because children of any background can feel psychologically stable if they increase their understanding of the country they are living in, and are highly effective in terms of democratic citizenship education and life guidance. Six locations in Suwon-si, including Jidong-cho, Seryu-cho, Namsuwon-cho, Maesan-cho, Hwahong-cho, and Suwon-cho, are steadily running’Global Multicultural Specialization Schools’. Multicultural special classes and non-graduate Korean classes are being held to solve the problem of language communication in public education.
Photos of the’Friend Invitation Day’ activity held in Seryu-cho in 2019. Provided by Suwon City
■ Learn Korean and Korean culture for two hours every day
Suwon City and Gyeonggi Office of Education support global multicultural specialization schools and multicultural special classes. In the case of Jidongcho, Korean language classes are held for two hours a day. The reason for the non-grade system is that multicultural students have different ages and different levels of Korean language. The small teacher, who has been in charge of multicultural education for the third year, frequently conducts Korean language classes using play with children. As it is a language class, we also collaborate with Korean language instructors to enhance the educational effect. Due to the nature of multicultural education, the goal is to help students adjust to school life by learning Korean properly. Play is the best when it comes to softening the classroom atmosphere. The method of scoring by a person who can read the Hangul word card on the floor upside down, or the method of taking turns reading using an easy picture book is also effective. There is no expression of embarrassment or dislike to learn because the children in this class cannot speak or write.
The Seryu-cho multicultural festival in 2019. Provided by Suwon City
“The multicultural students themselves also want to adjust to school quickly. The desire to learn is great, but the appropriate situation has not been prepared. Learning how to get close to friends through language and how to express one’s thoughts increases confidence and brightens my personality,” he said. “In the Korean language class, individualized instruction is conducted on a one-to-one basis. It creates opportunities for conversation while giving level-by-level instruction one by one, and allows teachers and multicultural instructors to be emotionally close to the child.” There are separate Korean textbooks for multicultural student education, and teachers and instructors make workbooks and worksheets to gauge the level of language acquisition. Education continues outside of the classroom, and through the’Multicultural Sensibility Program’ and’Multicultural Matching Program’, students will be exposed to Korean culture and guided their lives together. It operates a multicultural counseling room on campus and takes care of children’s hearts. Prior to Corona 19, experiential learning was often conducted with Korean students. They visited museums related to multiculturalism, folk villages and amusement parks, and based on these various experiences, they held the’World Citizen Festival’ and’Eullim Festival’ at school. “Sometimes people who are not familiar with multicultural education say that this is reverse discrimination (against Korean students). However,’anti-prejudice and mutual respect’ is rooted in democratic citizenship education, which is also the basic policy of public education. Korean students also participate in a variety of programs together, and it is effective emotionally and educationally.” “Children are rather free of prejudice. If you conduct multicultural sensibility education, etc., you will be asked,’Why do you have different skin color?’ ‘Why are you doing that?’ I’m not very good at blaming others. I just say,’It’s a deal that’s done in that country.’” I discriminate because I don’t know, and it gets better if I know. It changes when you understand it. Each of these processes is the role of public education.
A Korean class class in Jidong-cho in 2019. Provided by Suwon City
■ From language education to mutual respect education
Teacher Sang-Hyun Kim (Director of Multiculturalism, Seryucho) also teaches Korean language and culture to children for two hours a day. When 10 or so children come to the classroom, they focus on the parts that children especially struggle with, such as Korean support, change of endings, and honorifics. At the school level, it is a multicultural education that has entered its fifth year, and since this year, Teacher Kim has been in charge, and as an educator, there are many things that he feels new. Teacher Kim said, “Because I was in charge of multicultural education for the first time, I was very afraid. There was also a part that was educationally cautious because I had to teach students who didn’t know Korean at all.” When I went on a trip to another country, I also had an experience where I couldn’t understand what I was saying and it was a bit frustrating. “It’s hard for adults too if they can’t communicate, but I thought it would be worse for children who don’t have the right to make decisions about the situation, so I could see the answer little by little.” “It’s only been a month now, but I can see that students are trying to use the words they learned through the Korean language class. I am impressed by seeing them talk to the teachers, talk and laugh with my friends.” Teacher Kim felt that multicultural education is an education that teaches mutual respect through Twelve-year-old Eun Suk. Eun-suk, who was comfortable speaking in Chinese, only spoke Korean’Hello’ and’I like’ one day, and the reason why his Korean proficiency was excellent is because he taught a friend from Cambodia. Both students began to add fun to school life by teaching them one by one what they knew to a friend in Cambodia who couldn’t speak better than Eun-seok. I got closer to Korean students as well. Learning to speak made friends and made school easier. It’s not unfamiliar, so I opened my heart. “Students came to find the right answer while learning on their own. Teachers and instructors can act as captains, trusting and guiding children and giving direction. The goal of language education is to help you express yourself and give and receive what you want to say. I think it is the role of public education to make children feel’why do they need words and what makes them easier and better when they learn’.” Teacher Kim also teaches Korean language through plays, music, and simple board games. It is a way to learn naturally by explaining the rules of play and the symbols and numbers used in board games. In order to lower the psychological threshold of Korean language, which is still unfamiliar to multicultural students, the effect of education that combines arts and sports is good. The self-efficacy of children increases as they gain experience that they are a member of this community and that the other person gives positive feedback when expressing themselves. “I won, lost, it’s my turn, and I learned the words I use in my life very soon. When I feel that I can speak, I start to be interested in my studies.”
■ Build up your Korean language skills and increase your self-esteem
The Korean language proficiency of multicultural students who received Korean language education at the’Global Multicultural Specialization School’ in Suwon City actually improved significantly. Last year, the average score of 60 students who received Korean language education at 8 global multicultural specialization schools in Suwon rose 56 points from 229 points in May to 285 points in November. The Korean language proficiency test, which evaluates four areas: listening, reading, writing, and speaking, is a perfect score of 400. According to the report on the performance analysis of the Gyeonggi University Multicultural Education Center, the satisfaction of students who participated in the global multicultural specialized school program last year reached 94.2% (67.1% very satisfied, 27.1% satisfied). It was found that the self-esteem of the participating students also increased. After participating in the program, 76.8% of students thought’I should be a great person’ and 81.2% said’I have come to value myself’. One student who participated in the program said, “It was nice that the teacher praised me even if I wasn’t good at it.” Another student said, “I enjoyed my school life. I can speak, read and write myself, so I became more friendly with my friends.” By Kim Ji-yoon, staff reporter