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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Enhancement of Korean Language Education in Central Asian Countries

About 40 Korean language educators from universities in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan gathered together in April to discuss the current status and future tasks of Korean language education in the region.



The first Workshop for Korean Language Educators in Central Asian countries was held at the Al-Farabi Conference Room, of Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi (April 2-3). The workshop included the participation of 40 professors who currently teach at the Korean language departments of universities in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Of note, the participants from Uzbekistan endured a 1,000-kilometer journey, by taxi, to reach the workshop site. At the opening ceremony, it was stated that this was the first-ever meeting of its kind for the Korean language educators at universities in Central Asian countries. Moreover, it was also mentioned that the Korean language educators would be playing an instrumental role in reinforcing the cooperative relations between Korea and the Central Asian region.

Korean Language Curriculum
The first session addressed the issue of the Korean language curriculum. Korean language education specialists from Korea delivered a presentation that included suggestions for the establishment of educational ives and the development of a curriculum for Korean language education. Thereafter, Nam Victor from Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami, Uzbekistan, who recently completed his doctoral coursework at Seoul National University, outlined the current status of Korean education in Central Asian countries. In particular, Nam noted that although Korean education in Central Asian countries was being offered by several universities, there has been no standardized curriculum for Korean language education, which therefore meant that individual universities have offered with Korean language curriculum of their own. He also emphasized the need for joint development of a curriculum, with a focus on practical Korean (Korean conversation) and other basic Korean Studies courses, as an initial step.

Korean Language Textbooks
In the afternoon, the participants discussed the need to develop Korean language textbooks, for regional learners, along with the importance of having a standardized curriculum. Professor Bang Seong-won, of Kyung Hee Cyber University, introduced textbook development principles and the current status ofKorean textbooks in general. Based on his personal experience, Professor Kim Ik-hwan, who had been dispatched by the Academy of Korean Studies to Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi, where he served as a visiting professor, stressed the need for developing textbooks that reflect the local situation. One of the most difficult aspects of textbook development, in any region, is a general lack of local experts who are able to develop a quality Korean language textbook requiring immense time and efforts.

Networking among Educators
Various cultural and academic outreach programs implemented by Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami in Uzbekistan and Bishkek Humanities University in Kyrgyzstan, were featured in the third session of the workshop. The Korea Foundation provided an overview of its strategy to promote Korean language education abroad. Along with offering detailed information about its programs to enhance the instructional capability of Korean language educators, time was also spent to emphasize the importance of establishing network between relevant educators. The participants also exchanged ideas on such issues as Korean proficiency tests in Korea and in Central Asian countries, and freely expressed their views on key issues related to the advancement of Korean language education in Central Asian countries. Support for Korean Language Educators Although Korean language education has now been offered in the region for about a decade, an effective curriculum and textbooks have yet to be developed for Central Asian learners. To upgrade Korean language education in the region, it will be necessary to continue to provide local Korean language educators with various incentives, so that they might be inspired and encouraged to dedicate themselves to Korean language education. In addition, local professors need to enhance their roles in the research and development of advanced instructional methods.

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