The Department of English Language Education in Korea University’s College of Education was established in 1981 and is specially designed to cultivate qualified teachers and education professionals with theoretical and practical knowledge in English language education.
Educational Objectives
Our educational objectives are to nurture English teachers and English education professionals with 1) strong competencies in English language listening, speaking, reading and writing, 2) a robust knowledge of British and American cultures acquired through literature study, and 3) mastery of the theories and practices of English language teaching.
Current Status and Curriculum
As of 2015, our department boasts a faculty of 13 professors (9 Korean and 4 international), approximately 260 undergraduate students, over 110 graduate students enrolled in the Graduate School of Education, and around 50 graduate students in English Education.
To assist undergraduates in developing their English proficiency, all of the practical language courses (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are taught by native English-speaking professors. To facilitate their understanding of English as an academic discipline, undergraduates are also taught by professors specializing in English linguistics, British and American literature, and English education. Our English linguistics courses enhance students’ understanding of English as a language while the British and American literature courses are designed to walk students through the history and culture of literature in English. Our English education classes are open to students who wish to learn about English from a language educator’s perspective and apply their knowledge in classroom settings.
Over 90% of our classes are taught in English, including not only the courses led by international native-English speaking faculty, but also by the Korean professors. Thanks to our systematic program of English training courses and lectures, our department has long been recognized for our outstanding graduates who are armed with a robust proficiency in English and a deep understanding of the field of English.
Our practical English courses – taught by native-English speaking international professors – include English Listening and Conversation I, II, III, English Reading and Writing, Advanced English Writing, Advanced English Reading, and Public Speaking and Practical English.
Our department also offers six English linguistics courses: Introduction to English Linguistics, English Phonetics and Sound Structure, The Development of English Language and World Englishes, Syntactic Structure of English. Teaching English Grammar, Semantics and Pragmatics of English, and Applied English Linguistics.
There are eight British and American literature courses in our department: Teaching English Literature in EFL, Readings in English Children’s Literature, Readings in British and American Drama, Introduction to British and American Novels, Teaching English through Poetry, Practicum in Reader’s Theatre, Readings in British and American Novels, and Introduction to British and American Poetry in EFL.
Students are offered nine English education courses as follows: Cross-Cultural Understanding of English-Speaking Cultures, Introduction to Teaching EFL: Theory and Practice, Theory and Practice in EFL Pedagogy, Second Language Acquisition, and EFL Learning, Theories and Practice of Reading comprehension in L2, Teaching EFL Writing, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, ELT Curriculum and Materials Development, and EFL Assessment and Evaluation.
Our department offers master and doctorate degree programs in English Education administered by the Korea University Graduate School. The following 40 courses are offered to graduate students: Teaching British and American Children’s Literature, Teaching British and American Young Adult Literature, Teaching Multiculturalism through Multicultural Literature, Learning English through British and American Children’s Drama, Studies in Teaching English through English Literature, Teaching English through Films and English Language Learner’s Literature, Culture-Bound Language Learning in EFL, Structure of Modern English, Topics in English Grammar for EFL Learners, Pedagogical English Grammar, English Phonetics and Phonology, Teaching English Pronunciation and Listening Skills, Acquisition and Teaching of English Vocabulary, Discourse Analysis, Second Language Writing, Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Reading Comprehension, Second Language Learning and Teaching, English Pedagogy, Teaching Second Language Conversation and Listening Comprehension, Multimedia-based English Education, Language Assessment, Second Language Quantitative Research, English Education Policy, Teaching English through Picture Books in EFL, Teaching English through Creative Activities and Materials, Critical Pedagogy and Second Language Teaching, Development of the English Language and World Englishes, Applied English Semantics and Pragmatics, Elementary English Teaching Materials and Literacy Education, Teaching Reading Comprehension in College, Seminar: Teaching British and American Drama, Seminar in English Semantics for EFL, Linguistic Theories and Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Qualitative Research, Seminar in Applied English Linguistics, Seminar in Second Language Pragmatics, Seminar in English Language Education, Special Topics in English Language Education, and Seminar in the Acquisition of Phonology and Vocabulary.
In addition, the Graduate School of Education offers English-education programs to English teachers and English education professionals who wish to further their practical and theoretical studies in language learning and pedagogy.
Careers After Graduation
Since our foundation in 1968, our department has produced graduates who are well trained and taught by accomplished professors to play a leading role in the field of English education at middle and high schools in Korea. Most of our graduate students balance work and study to earn their master’s degree in English education and ultimately apply for a certificate for teaching English as Secondary School Teacher (Level II).
Beginning in 1985, when a total of 77 students first graduated from our department, we have produced over 2,000 graduates till 2007. Our graduates have developed their careers in academia as professors and teachers and in the field of media and broadcasting as producers and journalists. Others chose to work for government institutions, public companies, or private enterprises, including financial firms and international companies. Among their career paths after graduation, the majority of our graduates have gone into academia. While around 40% of our graduates were qualified as secondary teachers and chose to work for middle and high schools, approximately 30 graduates have taught at higher education institutions. Since the 1990s, when the national teacher certification examination was introduced for selection of middle and high school teachers, our department has successfully remained in the upper level of number of successful examination candidates for the Seoul Metropolitan area and Gyeonggi Province.
