English village
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| English village | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul: |
영어마을
|
| Hanja: |
英語마을
|
| Revised Romanization: | Yeong-eo Ma-eul |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Yŏng'ŏ Maŭl |
English villages are South Korean institutions providing a short-term immersion English experience in a live-in environment where only English is spoken. This is intended to promote English learning and to build students' international cultural awareness. The first English village was opened in August 2004 in Ansan city, Gyeonggi province. Additional English villages have been planned in both Gyeonggi province and Seoul.
English villages employ a mixture of foreign and fluent English-speaking Korean staff. They are intended to help students face the particular challenges of speaking English in the Korean context, where students learn English as a foreign language. Currently in South Korea, many families seek to improve their children's English ability by sending them to study abroad in English-speaking countries. This results in a substantial amount of money leaving the country. The English villages are intended to reduce this loss, and make the immersion experience accessible to students from low-income families as well. However, many question whether the English villages will be cost-effective.
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[edit] Gyeonggi
The English villages of Gyeonggi province are overseen by the Gyeonggi English Culture Foundation, a quasi-governmental body established on the initiative of Gyeonggi province governor Sohn Hak-Kyu. In addition to the operating village in Ansan, the foundation plans to establish a much larger English village in Paju in 2006, and another in Yangpyeong County in 2008. Thereafter, the foundation hopes to franchise the English village concept to other cities.
[edit] Ansan English Village
Ansan English Village was established in 2004 on Daebu Island on the coast of the Yellow Sea. Built on the site of a former government complex, the campus covers an area of 184,800 m², including athletic facilities. It has approximately 50 full time staff. It employs a content-based curriculum, with English-medium courses on topics including drama, world music and dance, global awareness, cooking, broadcasting, and robotics.
The village provides weekend and weekday programs, with a month-long program planned for school vacations. The weekend program works with families, training parents in how to encourage their children to speak English. The weekday program takes in about 200 middle school students per week, drawn each week from a different school in Gyeonggi province.
[edit] Seoul
Seoul English Village was contracted by the Seoul government to a consortium of companies including Herald Media publisher of the Korea Herald English newspaper. Herald Media manages the daily operations, curriculum development, and implementation of programs at SEV. It opened in late November 2004. The campus, located in Songpa-gu in southeastern Seoul, has an area of 16,500 m².
