critical reflection on the tee certificate system for secondary school...
TRANSCRIPT
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Ellglish Teaching, Vol. 67, No. 3, Autumn 20 12
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for • * Secondary School Teachers of EnglIsh
Hyoshin Lee
(Konkuk University Glocal Campus)
Lee, Hyoshin. (2012). Critical reflection on the TEE certificate system for
secondary school teachers of English. English Teaching, 67(3),227-249.
A new in-service teaching certificate system, the TEE Certificate system, was
launched for Korean teachers of English with the aim of encouraging them to use
English in their daily teaching practice. This study attempts to investigate key issues
regarding the current development of the TEE Certificate system and addresses the
implications for a successful TEE policy in Korea. It employs document analysis
produced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Teclmology and to key Regional
Offices of Education and semi-structured interviews with 15 supervisors, 11 teachers
and 2 TEE Certificate exam iners. The research findings suggest that there is a gap
regarding the aims of the TEE Certificate system among stakeholders, leading to the
different attitudes toward it. Those who have positive perceptions of the system see it
as a tool for encouraging Korean teachers of English to develop their English language
teaching competence. On the other hand, those who have negative attitudes see the
negative aspects such as another type of burden on teachers and even the possibility of
a form of lay-off. The new strategies of how to use the system are required to make it
play a proper role in terms of the provision of an English-fi'iendly learning
environment and supporting teachers' professional development.
I. INTRODUCTION
With an increasing awareness of the importance of English education in a society
whose prosperity relies upon globalization, information technology and communication,
much emphasis on the provision of a high quality of English language teaching has been
placed in the state sector throughout non-English-speaking countries , The pivotal role of
teachers of English in the process of teaching and learning English has been highlighted
* This research was sponsored by the British Council Korea.
228 Lee, Hyoshin
and the idea of 'Teaching English through English (TETE) or Teaching English in
English (TEE)' has become a main strategy in many other countries, particularly in an
EFL context where most students are rarely exposed to English in their daily lives
(Foreman & Min, 2010; Jin-Hwa Lee, 2007; Jang-Hak Moon & Kyong-Hyon Pyo,
2010).
Since English education has become a political and social agenda as well as an
educational one in South Korea, mainly concerning excessive expenditure on private
language instruction and the lack of opportunities to learn English of the students with
poor family background or in rural areas, the Korean government has paid much attention
to the high quality of English language teaching in the state sector. With a critical concern
about the Korean EFL context, where most Korean students have rare chances to use
English in daily life, the government started to introduce various policies, such as
recruiting native English speaking teachers, English villages and camps, extra English
lessons and so on, in order to provide learning opportunities which expose students to
English as much as possible.
In this line, the Korean government has taken TEE as a 'meta-strategy ' in English
education with an assumption that a teacher's use of English in an EFL classroom would
provide students with opporttmities to use the target language with more input, and
ultimately students could gain the communicative competence required in the current
global society (Hyo-Shin Lee & Norton, 2011). Many experts have argued that
successful TEE requires sufficient English proficiency of teachers, which is one of the
biggest concerns regarding non-native English speaking teachers (Sung-Yeon Kim, 2002,
2008), and that effective TEE needs to consider proper tasks for TEE as well as teachers'
and learners' proficiency levels (Jin-Hwa Lee, 2007). Considering these concerns, the
Korean government has provided a variety of teacher education programs for teachers of
English, such as 6-month residential or non-residential intensive programs, short-term
conversation courses and overseas training courses. Despite various efforts made by the
teachers, teacher educators and policy makers, the issue of the language teaching
competence of the Korean teachers of English has been critically raised by the general
public and it has become a social issue as well as an educational one (Seok-Hwan Oh,
2011).
In order to reinforce the TEE strategy, the government introduced a TEE Certificate
system with an expectation that the Korean teachers of English would improve their
TEE ability and provide their students with a more English-friendly learning
environment (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2009). The TEE
Certificate is awarded to the Korean teachers of English when they pass the two
different tests, knowledge and teaching practice tests, based on the model that Seoul
Metropolitan of Office of Education (SMOE) implemented in 2009. The system
Critical Re fl ection on the TEE Cenificate System for Secondary School. .. 229
implemented in most Regional Offices of Education (ROEs) are very similar to the one
used in SMOE and gradually developed through a slightly altered method based on each
ROE's own context in the local community. However, the system has brought a hot issue
to the teachers of English who have already received the Certificate of English language
teaching and has not been implemented in a few ROEs.
This paper aims to investigate the key issues regarding the current development of the
TEE Certificate system and addresses the implications for a successful TEE policy in
Korea. The specific research questions are as follows :
1) What are the key issues of the current TEE Certificate system including
aims, prerequisite requirements and procedure?
2) What kinds of supporting systems are there to encourage teachers to
participate in the TEE Certificate system?
3) What are the implications for a successful TEE policy?
II. BACKGROUND
1. Definition of TEE
TEE (Teaching English in English) or TETE (Teacrung English through English) is not
a very innovative approach in the English language teaching area. Using the target
language in foreign language classrooms was suggested in Direct Method and
Audiolingual Method, as Richard and Rogers (1986) mentioned. It started to be
highlighted since the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach became a main
approach in English lar1guage teaching. Halliwell (1992) argues that the use of the target
language in the classroom helps learners to improve their abilities to infer the meaning of
the target language and to develop the sense of using the target language in a real language
use context by being exposed to the target language.
In the Korean EFL context, the importance of teachers ' English competence in an EFL
classroom has been emphasised by many experts since CLT was introduced into the
national cuniculum of English as a main teaching and learning approach (Jun-Eon Park,
Geong-Seok Kim, Hee-Gyeong Choi & Keong-Han Kim, 2008). Korean Institute of
Curriculum and Evaluation (KlCE) (2009) recently defined TEE competence as ' the
ability to manage the English-medium commw1icative language teaching classrooms in
which a teacher communicates with students and strengthens the interaction arnong
students. More specifically, according to KICE, there are three main components in TEE
competence; knowledge in English teaching, Engli sh teaching practice in a communicative
230 Lee, Hyoshin
way and TEE English proficiency.
Despite its general consensus on the importance of teaching English in the Korean EFL
classrooms, there has not existed an agreed definition of what exactly TEE means. It has
been argued that TEE does not mean that teachers should teach English only in English
and not be allowed to use their mother tongues at all. Finocciaro and Brumfit (1983, cited
in Richards & Rodgers 1986, pp. 67-68) wrote as follows; "Judicious use of native
language is accepted where feasible" . That is, a good English teacher should make a
decision of when and how much he or she uses the mother tongue in the language
classrooms where the target language is mainly used, based on the proper lmderstanding of
learners' level, learning objectives and learning environment. This should be considered in
the Korean ELT context where the levels of learners are very low in tem1S of
communicative skills using English.
Since TEE has recently become a critical agenda in the Korean ELT context, some
research has been conducted regarding the issue of TEE. The research findings show that
Korean teachers of English have positive attitudes towards the effects of TEE (lung-Min
Go, 2008; Chan-Kyu Min, 2008). Interestingly, however, it was found that the teachers
recognised the concept of TEE in various ways (KICE, 2001). The KICE presented that 45%
of teachers used English as a way of instructing students during the lesson, and 35.4% of
them used it when modelling in English. Twelve percent of them said that they used
English when explaining the learning objectives and 3.8% of teachers replied they teach
grammar in English. One point four percent of teachers used English in explaining
sentence structure. This indicates that Korean teachers of English do not have any clear
understanding of what TEE means and how it should be implemented in the English
language classrooms. Teachers' different understanding of TEE makes their teaching
different (Dae-Min Kang, 2008) and it is likely that this has caused teachers to have
anxiety of or negative attitudes towards TEE.
Considering the fact that Korean teachers of English do not seem ready to adopt a TEE
approach in their daily classrooms, despite their positive attitudes towards the effects of
TEE in terms of English language learning, it is wOlth examining how the TEE Certificate
system has been implemented and identifYing what support systems are needed.
2. The Context of TEE Certificate System
It has been strongly recommended to Korean teachers of English that they teach
English using English, and their language teaching competence has been a critical issue.
The government has provided them with a variety of teacher education programs to
improve their English competence including overseas training, 1, 3 and 6 month
residential intensive training, and so on. In-service teacher education, with the aim of
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 23 1
encouraging English teachers to use English in all their classes by helping them improve
their teaching skills as well as their English proficiency for better teaching has been at the
centre of the current English education policy in Korea. To achieve this aim, the
government introduced the TEE Certificate system and has sponsored the six month
intensive teacher training programs through which about 1,500 English teachers across the
nation have attended a six-month, intensive, off-site training course at various universities
and training centers (Byung-min Lee, Yoo-jin Yoon, & Hyo-shin Lee, 2011). Additional
programs are provided by the ROEs for the teachers of English.
The TEE Certificate is awarded to the Korean teachers of English when they pass the
two different tests, tests of teaching knowledge and practice. The TEE Certificate system
was originally introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) in 2009
based on the research on it with KlCE in 2008 (KlCE, 2009; MEST, 2009). SMOE
introduced the TEE Certificate system to achieve the following four goals: (a) to develop a
diagnostic tool to identify the language competence and teaching competence of teachers
of English, (b) to develop the tool for the teachers ' self-development, (c) to improve
students' and parent's confidence level in teachers' professional competence, and (d) to
encourage the teachers of English to improve the level ofteaching quality and passion.
The TEE Certificate systems implemented in all ROEs have a similar framework based
on the model of SMOE since it was first introduced in SMOE. In order to understand a
general picture of the TEE Certificate system, it seems worth looking at the frame of TEE
Certificate in SMOE. There are two types of the TEE Certificate, TEE-Ace (TA) and TEE
Master (TM) introduced by SMOE in 2009-2010, as shown Figure 1.
T EE-Ace (TA)
Cel1ificate
T EE-Master
(TM)
Certificate
FIGURE 1
TEE Certificate Levels and Procedure
More than 3 year
of teaching
q TKT experience
TPT More than 30
TEE points*
More than 7 year T EE
of teaching H
professiona l
experience f-Y course
More than 80 TKT
TEE points TPT
Given TEE-A
Cel1ificate ,....J... '---Y
Awards (fmancial
support for self-
study)
Given TEE-M
Cel1ificate
H Teacher mentor
f-Y Awards(financia l
supp0l1 for self-
study or I month
overseas training)
232 Lee, Hyoshin
In order to apply for the TA Certificate, applicants need to obtain more than 3 years of
teaching experience and more than 30 TEE points. For the TM Certificate, applicants are
required to have more than 7 years of teaching experience and more than 80 TEE points.
Incentives are provided to encourage teachers to apply for the TEE Certificate. For the
teachers who gained the TA Certificate, the certificate, 10 TEE points in the area of self
development and financial SUppOlt for 3 months of self-study at any private language
institute are provided. For those who obtained the TM Certificate, the certificate, 1
month overseas training or financia l support for 3-months of se lf-study at any private
language institute are provided. TA recipients are expected to demonstrate TEE lessons to
their colleagues, while TM recipients are expected to play the roles of teachers ' mentors,
trainers ofteachers or TEE-Ace examiners.
Since the TEE Certificate system was introduced by SMOE in 2009, MEST
encouraged ROEs to implement it with the fo llowing aims: (a) to emphasize more
exposure to the English in English classrooms with the awareness of the importance of
teachers' target language use in EFL classrooms, (b) to satisfy demands on the provision of
proper teacher education programs for teachers of English in various levels in terms of
English and teaching competence, with particular reference to TEE competence, (c) to aim
at having all of the Korean teachers of English be capable of teaching English in English
by 2012, (d) to suggest that TEE Certificate tests be used as a diagnostic tool in order to
provide teachers with step-by-step and tailor-made teacher training programs, (e) to
manage the data base for the effective provision of teacher education programs, and (f) to
screen the highest qualified teachers and support them as leaders of teachers (Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology, 11 September, 2009, PR).
The TEE Certificate system is based on an assumption that the failure of English
education in state sectors is caused by the lack of real use of Engl ish in the Korean EFL
context. This assumption led the Korean government to put much emphasis on the
teachers' use of English in English classrooms and introduce TEE Certificate system. It
expects the Korean teachers of English to improve their TEE ability and provide Korean
students with a more English-friendly learning environment. The system has been
implemented in a simi lar way as SMOE introduced in 2009 but not been fully
implemented in aU ROEs but gradual ly developed and implemented in consideration of
the context of each ROE.
3. Previous Research on the TEE Certificate System
Although the TEE Certificate has been a critical concern among Korean teachers of
English and policy makers, li ttle attention has been paid by researchers. This seems to be
due to the short history of the introduction of the system in the context of English
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for SecondalY School... 23 3
education in Korea. Recently, attempts to explore some key issues regarding the TEE
Certificate system have been made (Sang-Hee Hong, 2011; Jae-Myung Kim, 2012; Lee et
aI., 2011; Yu-Ri Lee, 2012).
Considering the fact that the system highly entails the active participation of Korean
teachers of English, much attention has been paid to teachers' attitudes towards it. Jae
Myung Kim (2012) examined the perceptions of Korean high school teachers of English
by conducting a questionnaire survey. The research findings suggested that a small number
of Korean high school teachers of English (13.3%) saw the TEE Certificate system as a
useful tool for improving teaching ability in their daily teaching practice and that most of
the high school teachers of English who participated in the survey did not think it was an
appropriate tool to assess teaching competence.
The negative perception of secondary school teachers of English on the TEE
Certificate system was also found in the research conducted by Lee et al. (2011). The
research indicated that most Korean secondary school teachers of English were not
satisfied with the system (average 2.17 in middle schools and 2.27 in high schools out of
5.00). It also illustrated that most secondary school teachers of English thought neither it
contributed to the improvement of teaching (average 2.72 in middle schools and 2.74 in
high schools out of 5.00) nor helped them develop their professionalism. It further found
that the teachers did not want to apply for the TEE Certificate system continuously
(average 2.29 in middle schools and 2.32 in high schools out of 5.00).
In regard to the low satisfaction level of Korean secondary teachers of English with
the TEE Certificate system, Yu-Ri Lee (2011) and Sang-Hee Hong (2012) attempted to
identify the reasons . Yu-Ri Lee (2011) critically saw that the TEE Certificate system was
designed to measure teacher competence in a quantitative way. This could lead to
missing many parts of the process of teaching and leaming. She also argued that the lack
of standardized assessment methods of the TEE Certificate system at a national level
could cause the reliability and validity of the system. Sang-Hee Hong (2012) also
examined the reasons for why the system was not very welcomed by the teachers . The
most significant reason suggested by her research was that the TEE Celtificate system
did not take into account the dynamics and diversities of classrooms. It is interesting that
teachers also pointed out that the system could be used for personal purposes such as
promotion not for public purpose such as the improvement of daily teaching practice.
An interesting point is that elementary school teachers of English have slightly
positive attitudes towards the TEE Certificate system, while secondary school teachers
of English showed relatively negative attitudes (Lee et aI., 20 II). It was found that
elementary school teachers of English believed that the TEE Certificate system helped
improve teaching practice (average 3.33 out of 5.00) and that the system contributed to
their professional development (average 3.39 out of 5.00). It was also found that they
234 Lee, Hyoshin
wanted to keep implementing the system (average 3.06 out of 5.00). The different
attitudes between elementary and secondary school teachers need to be reflected on the
process of developing the system in the future.
III. RESEARCH METHODS
1. Data Collection
This study employs document analysis and interviews in order to discover the factual
components of the implementation of the TEE Certificate system in the key ROEs. The
documents produced by the MEST and ROEs in 2009-2010 were collected and analyzed
The study also carried out semi-standardized interviews in which the interviewer
(researcher) worked out a set of questions in advance, but was flexible in using those
questions depending on the initial answers given by the interviewees. The interviews
were used to triangulate the information collected in the document analysis. The data
collected and presented in this paper were translated into English from Korean.
Interviews were conducted with 28 interviewees including supervisors, teachers and
TEE Certificate examiners as key stakeholders concerning the TEE Certificate system.
Individual interviews were carried out with 3 teachers in Seoul and 1 teacher in Daejeon
at first to explore the general perspective of school teachers of English regarding TEE
Certificate. Then interviews were conducted with IS supervisors who were in charge of
the TEE Certificate systems in 9 ROEs to gain more factual information. Due to the
constraints of time, both face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted. The
interviews with 5 supervisors in Gwangju, leollanamdo, Daegu, Incheon, and
leo II abukdo, and 1 teacher who was working on TEE Certificate in Daejeon were
carried out on the phone. A group discussion with 7 teachers in Seoul and 2 TEE
Certificate examiners was also conducted to gather further information about the
teachers' and examiners' perceptions on the TEE Certificate system. The details of
informants are as follows:
TABLE 1
Interviewee's Information (28 interviewees in total)
A. Face-to-face interviews with supervisors (10 interviewees)
Jeju (2): Mr. A, Mr. B
Busan (3): Mr. C, Ms. A, Ms. B
Seoul (3): Ms. C, Ms. 0, Mr. 0
Gangwondo (2): Mr. E, Ms. E
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School . . .
B. Phone interviews with supervisors (5 interviewees)
Daegu: Mr. F
Gwangju : Mr. G
Incheon: Mr. H
Geonnam: Mr. I
Geonbuk: Ms. F
C. Phone interviews with a teacher ( 1 interview)
235
Daejeon : Mr. J (a middle school teacher working on TEE Celtificate system in the RO E)
D. Face-to-face interviews with teachers in Seoul (3 interviewees)
Mr. K (a high school teacher - TEE-M)
Ms. G (a high school- TEE-A)
Ms. H (a middle school teacher - not app lied for TEE Certificate)
E. Individual interview with TEE Celtificate examiners in Seoul (2 interviewees)
Ms. I (a v ice principal - a member of TEE test TF team and examiner)
Dr. C (an examiner for primary chao I teacher, a professor in a university)
F. Group interview with teachers in Seoul (7 interviewees)
Mr. L (a high school teacher, TEE-M)
Mr. M (a high school teacher, TEE-A)
Ms. J (a high school teacher, TEE-M)
Mr. N (a middle schoo l teacher, TEE-A)
Ms. K (a middle school teacher, TEE-A)
Ms. L (a high school teacher, not app lied for TEE Celtificate)
Ms. M (a middle school teacher, not applied for TEE Certificate)
2. Data Analysis
Data analysis in qualitative research is a dynamic and creative process, which follows
data co ll ection. Bearing in mind that interviewing is for 'seeing the world from the
perspective of our subjects' (G lassner & Loughlin, 1987, p. 37 cited in Silvem1an, 2000,
p. 125), 1 tried to listen to the authentic voices of their experiences regarding the issues
addressed in the research and w1derstand what the voices represent. To do this, I kept
writing key emerging themes while carrying out interviews, read my field notes and
developed concepts and propositions.
Based on the research questions set up in the beginning of the research and the
concepts and propositions developed throughout the interviews, the following criteria
are used to examine the TEE status in each ROE.
236 Lee, Hyoshin
1. Aims are reviewed to see what the main purpose of the TEE Certificate
system in each ROE is.
2. Pre-requisite qualifications are looked at in order to understand who are
eligible for the TEE Certificate.
3. TEE required points for TEE Certificate application are reviewed to
discern how each ROE selects the applicants.
4. Procedure is examined to see the process of how the TEE Certificate is given
to the teachers .
5. Incentives to encounge teachers to apply for the TEE Certificate are
dealt with in order to see what kinds of benefits have been provided and what
supporting systems should be provided in the future.
6. Expected roles of TEE Certificate recipients are explored to identify what
roles the teachers who successfully get the TEE Certificate are expected to
play and any support systems for this .
IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
1. Key Issues of the Current TEE Certificate System
Key issues of the current TEE certificate system addresses the three questions:
What are the aims of TEE Certificate system?
What are the pre-requisite qualifications teachers should have in order to be
eligible?
How can teachers become TEE teachers? How many stages are there in the
TEE Certificate system?
1) What are the aims of the TEE Certificate policy?
The document analysis has shown that the key ROEs have set similar aims of the TEE
Certificate system. They are summarized as follows:
to improve students' communicative ability 111 English by providing an
English-speaking classroom environment
to reduce private expenditure on learning English
to improve the TEE competence of Korean teachers of English
to encourage teachers to participate in the continuous professional
development
Critica l Reflection on the TEE Cel1i fi cate System for Secondary Schoo l . 237
to provide tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs
to recover the confidence of students and parents in teachers' language
teaching competence
to replace the ro les of native English speaking teachers with Korean teachers
of English
to secure a database of teachers of English to identify the demands of teacher
training
By analyzing the documents and making interviews, the researcher has developed the
structure of the policy as shown in Figure 2. To sum up the structure of the TEE
Certificate system, the TEE Celtificate system aims to support Korean teachers of
English in order for all of them to develop their TEE competence by 2012. The aim will
be achieved by providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs and
encouraging them to pmticipate in the continuous professional development. Specific
means to do this will be to establish supporting systems such as the database to identify
the demand of teacher training, a perfom1ance evaluation system and a website to share
materials and teaching practice video clips. Based on the structure of the policy, it is
argued that the key point to make the TEE Certificate system successful is dependent on
the provision and management of teacher training programs. Therefore, emphasis should
be placed on teacher training rather than the operation of the TEE Certificate. This
means that the procedure of the TEE Certificate system should be designed to link it to
teacher training programs.
238 Lee, Hyoshin
FIGURE 2
Structure of TEE Certificate system
• to achi eve students' communicative ability in English by providing
Engli sh-speaking classroom environment
• to reduce private expenditure on learning English
• to improve the TEE competence of Korean teachers of English
• to encourage them to participate In continuous professional
EFFECTS development
• to provide ta ilor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs
• to recover the confidence of students and parents 111 teachers'
language teaching competence
• to replace the roles of nat ive English speaking teachers
• to set-up data base to identify the demands of teacher training
[:)
• to support Korean English teachers in order for all of them to
AIMS develop the TEE competence by 2012
c:;;:, Percentage of teachers who can teach English in English : 58%('07)
----> 65%(' I 0) ---->80%(' II) ----> I 00%(' 12)
MEANS
."V". • providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training prgrams
• encouraging them to participate In the continuous professional
development
• establishing support systems including the database for teacher
training programs, performance evaluation system and website to
share material s and classroom teaching video clips.
The interviews with participants have found that they think the purpose of using the
TEE test has slightly changed. It was initially designed to be used as a diagnostic test to
identify teachers' level of teaching competence and provide proper teacher training
programs. A vice-principal who had participated in developing the TEE test before it
was introduced as the TEE Certificate in SMOE said,
I had a different opinion about how to use the TEE test. I don't like the
certificate system as a tool to classify teachers into different levels. I strongly
recommended that we should use it as an internal source for securing a
database to see what types of teachers we have and what kinds of training
programs we need to provide. (face-to-face interview with Ms. I, a vice
Cri tica l Re fl ection on the TEE Cel1i ficate System for Secondary School ... 239
principal).
It has been fo und that people recognize the main purpose of the TEE Certificate in a
different way. Some teachers see it as a process of pushing teachers with low levels of
TEE competence to leave the teaching profession.
For me, TEE Certificate is a kind of trend. I think I should get it even with a
lower level, which is not very demanding. But not many teachers are like me.
To be honest, I think the TEE Certificate system makes the gap between the
teachers in a high level and a low level of competence bigger and bigger. One
of my co lleagues who is over 50 regarded the TEE Certificate system as a form
of lay-off. He seems to ignore it but I think he is very stressed. (face-to-face
interview with Ms. G, a high school teacher with TEE-Ace Certificate)
It has been fo und that there is a big gap among the stakeholders regarding the aims of
the TEE system designed by the govemment and the perception of Korean teachers of
English. As shown in the Figure 2, the main aim of the system is to support them to
develop the TEE competence through providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher
training programs and establishing support system. By contrast, not a small number of
Korean teachers of English seem to have the perception that the system will classify
them into different levels and even can be used to lay-off of incompetent teachers.
2) What are pre-requisite qualifications teachers should have in order to be eligible?
In general, the key ROEs ask applicants to meet similar pre-requisite qualifications
and TEE points based on the indicator scales to be eligible to apply for the TEE
Certificate. The contents of the TEE Certificate pre-requisite conditions are based on the
two areas: experiences of taking training courses and self-development. The ways of
acquiring points are also similar among ROEs.
To screen the applicants' linguisti c competence, the teachers' performance is
examined during language courses and IETTP provided by regional teacher training
centers and overseas training etc. To see how teachers develop their professionalism by
themselves, the experience of TEE lesson demonstration, post-graduate degrees, the
result of public English tests, contribution to the development of English education and
so on are included.
The TEE points are related to the process of teachers' professional development,
which corresponds to the aim of the TEE Certifi cate system in that it is focused on
encouraging teachers to develop TEE competence through a vari ety of professional
240 Lee, Hyoshin
development methods. Considering the fact that the priority was given to language
competence as a main content of professional development of Korean teachers of
English rather than teaching practice (Kyung-Suk Chang, Byeong-Cheon Lee, & Kyu-Tae
Chung, 2011; Sung-Yeon Kim, Hye-Ryun Kim, So-Young Lee, & Kil-Joo Woo, 2010;
Lee et aI., 2011), it is recommended that the current professional development programs
need to be reorganized in order to meet the new context.
3) How can teachers become TEE teachers? How many stages are there in the TEE
system?
Most of the TEE Certificate systems of ROEs have 2 or 3 stages in each level. The
main stages are TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) and TPT (Teaching Practice Test).
TKT and TPT are used as the main stages in Seoul, Daegu, Jeollabukdo and Jejudo. A
computer-based TKT has been replaced by a TKT on-line teacher training program in
Seoul from 2011.
There are some ROEs in which other instrument to see teachers' English competence
are included in the stages of screening TEE Certificate applicants. Busan ROE employs
EPT (English Proficiency Test) as the first stage, and Daejeon ROE takes EWT (English
Writing Test) before TKT and TPT. ESPT (English Speaking Proficiency Test) is used in
Gwangju. On the other hand, it is interesting to look at Incheon in which TKT is not
used as a stage since they believe that teachers of English in Korea have already had
enough knowledge of teaching and do not need to take extra teaching knowledge tests.
The following shows this belief.
I am sure that TEE Certificate system has many good points. One of the best
points is to encourage teachers to think of the importance of professional
development. Last year, the applicants for the cyber training programs were not
many but this year we have many more applicants than last year .... I think this
shows evidence that TEE Certificate system encourages or pushes teachers to
do something for their professional development. ... However, it costs too
much .... Anyway, the fact that you are working in a school as an English
teacher, it means you are qualified in English language teaching and it also
means you have enough knowledge of teaching. We decided not to include
TKT in the procedure of TEE Certificate. (Phone interview with a supervisor)
Another interesting point is that a language course is provided for the teachers who
have passed the highest level. This shows that teachers' English competence is regarded
as the most important criteria in looking at Korean teachers of English, as Hyo-Shin Lee
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 24 1
(2007) argued: Too much emphasis on English competence is seen in the title of TEE
Certificate in Gwangju, TEE-N(Native). Teachers with TEE-A are supposed to take a 6
month language course to become a native-like English speaking teacher.
2. Supporting Systems of the TEE Certificate System
Supporting systems of the TEE Certificate system includes two issues:
What are ROEs planning to encourage teachers to apply for the policy?
What support do supervisors need to run the TEE policy more efficiently?
1) What are ROEs planning to encourage teachers to apply for the policy?
Since the TEE Certificate system has not been very welcomed by most Korean
teachers of English as shown in the previous research (Sang-Hee Hong, 2012; Jae
Myung Kim, 2012; Lee et aI., 201 1; Yu-Ri Lee, 2011), each ROE provides incentives to
encourage them to participate in the system. The main incentives are Certificate in
difference levels, some scholarships and an opportunity to take overseas training or
financial support for se lf-study at any private language center.
Further training programs after TEE Certificate procedure have not been considered in
most ROEs. The fo llowing are the reasons for this .
It is believed that the TEE Certificate system itself gives considerable stress
and burden to teachers, and no more pressure and workload should be given.
(Face-to-face interview with a supervisor)
TEE Certificate itself shows the teachers' teaching competence. What more do
you need? (Face-to-face interview with a supervisor)
No more pressure. There is fu lly enough training for the teachers of English in
Korea. (Face-to-face interview with a teacher)
Whi le most ROEs have not been prepared for any further or supplemental training
programs, Daegu and Daejeon ROEs strongly suggest that teachers in the highest level
should take the training program to become trainers of teachers. This is because Daegu
and Daejeon have already provided the training of trainer (TOT) program since 2009 in
the UCC centre in Daegu.
Being aware of the lack of fo llow-up programs to expand the roles of teachers in the
highest level, the question about the further program was made in Busan.
242 Lee, Hyoshin
2) What support do supervisors need to enact the TEE policy more efficiently?
Most supervisors argue that the lack of budget causes them difficulties in the process
of implementing the TEE Certificate policy. They seem to believe that more incentives
are necessary to encourage teachers to participate in the system. They also mentioned
the possibility of standardizing TEE competence evaluation at the national level. The
diversity of TEE competence criteria makes teachers confused and causes a lack of
confidence in working.
3. Teachers' Evaluation of the TEE Certificate System
There are pros and cons regarding the TEE certificate system In Korea. It is
understandable that the new system has given burden and stress to Korean teachers of
English, leading to negative perceptions of the system. The reasons identified from a
group meeting with 7 teachers are as follows:
It gives lots of stress.
It is a kind of public event.
It is unfair in that only English teachers are asked to go through this certificate
process.
It should be modified otherwise it will not last for a long time.
It is just another teacher training program.
It is made just for a show but it's nothing practical for the classroom teaching.
As a result, there is an opinion that the system has failed in encouraging teachers to
participate in the program voluntarily.
There are not many applicants and actually some teachers do not have any
interest in the TEE Certificate.
By contrast, there is an opinion that the system has given positive effects.
It is expected to play a positive role in pushing Korean teachers of English
who have not been interested in their own professional development.
It is a kind of tool to force KETs to develop their teaching ability.
Comments which are useful to improve the system are made by the participants. The
reason for the difference of attitudes between elementary and secondary school teachers
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School... 243
to the system is given.
It may be good for elementary school English teachers who have not got the
specialized license in teaching English but not for secondary school teachers
who have already got the teaching English certificate issued by the
government and now work on it.
Participants suggest the improvement of the system including the assessment
procedure and follow-up programs.
There seems to be a lack of reliability and validity in the TEE Certificate
process.
The government needs to do something after giving TEE-Master certificate.
Teachers who were awarded TM don't know what they should do. TM doesn't
have anything special.
The need for more efforts to make the system known to students, parents and teachers
is also raised.
Students and parents don't know my certificate. Even my colleagues are not
interested in it. They don ' t know it. I don't think it is really useful.
v. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
1. Summary
The findings from the research suggest that there is a gap regarding the aims of the
TEE Certificate system designed by the government among stakeholders, leading to the
different attitudes to it. Those who have positive perception of the system see it as a too l
for encouraging Korean teachers of English to develop their English language teaching
competence while those who have negative attitudes to the system see the negative
aspects such as another type of burden on teachers and even the possibility of a form of
lay-off. The former positive view has led to reinforcing the system by introducing a
stricter point system and encouraging teachers to apply for the certificate to obtain a
higher quality of teaching English competence. On the other hand, the latter negative
view has led some ROEs such as Gangwondo, leollanamdo, and Gwangjusi, to decide
not to implement the system or to implement it in a minimised way. The new strategies
244 Lee, Hyoshin
of how to use the system are required to make it playa proper role in terms of the
provision of an English-friendly learning environment and supporting teachers'
professional development. The summary of findings is described below:
a. It has been found that more emphasis should be placed on teacher training rather
than the operation of the TEE Certificate. This means that the procedure of the TEE
Certificate system should be designed to link it to teacher education programs.
b. The key ROEs ask applicants to meet similar pre-requisite qualifications and to
earn TEE points based on the indicator scales to be eligible to apply for the TEE
Certificate. The contents of TEE Certificate pre-requisite conditions are based on
the two areas: experiences of taking training programs and self-development.
Considering that most of the training programs for the Korean teachers of English
mainly focus on the improvement of linguistic competence rather than teaching
practice component, it is recommended that the current teacher training programs
need to be reorganized in order to meet the new context.
c. Most of the TEE Certificate systems of ROEs have two or three stages in each level.
The main stages are completed by passing TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) and
TPT (Teaching Practice Test). It is found that TKT is replaced by the participation
of teacher training programs in many places. Another interesting point is that a
language course is provided for the teachers who have passed the highest level.
This shows that teachers ' English competence is regarded as the most important
criteria in TEE competence, as shown in the pre-requisite qualifications.
d. ROEs provide incentives to encourage teachers to participate in the system such as
scholarships, opportunities to take overseas training or financial support for self
study at any private language center. It is viewed that this is because the certificate
system has not been very welcomed by the most Korean teachers of English and
even some supervisors who are in charge of the system. The general negative
attitudes towards the TEE Certificate system are likely to inhibit the supervisors in
developing further programs after TEE Certificate procedure. An issue of the lack
of follow-up programs to expand the roles of teachers in the highest level was
raised. On the other hand, it is worth looking at some ROEs, such as Daejeon and
Daegu, where further training programs for the teachers in the highest level are
prepared to help them become trainers of teachers.
e. Most supervisors argue that the budget deficiencies cause difficulties for them.
They seem to believe that more incentives are necessary to encourage teachers to
participate in the TEE Certificate system. They also mentioned the need of
standardization of TEE competence evaluation at the national level. The diversity
of TEE competence criteria make teachers confused and cause a lack of confidence
Critical Reflection on the TEE Celtificate System for SecondaIY School. 245
in working.
As the TEE Certificate was recently introduced, there has been confusion and
misunderstanding regarding the aims and effects, and these are in the process of
development. As the TEE Certificate system is directly related to the morale and
competence of Korean teachers of English who have made more efforts for professional
development than any other subject teachers in Korea, it is vital to make them
understand the aims of the system and to encourage their voluntary participation in the
process. Based on the findings of the TEE Certificate system, some recommendations
are to be provided.
2. The New Strategies of TEE Certificate System in Korea
Firstly, the TEE Certificate system needs to be developed according to the aims of the
system. This includes the establishment of the proper target for the number of teachers
acquiring the certificates and the proper provision of the teacher development programs.
Although there are demands to standardize the system, it is desirable that the system
needs to be developed to retlect the context of each region. More attention is needed in
adapting teacher training progran1s to the current demands from both teachers and the
general public.
Secondly, the supporting system needs to be developed in order to make the current
system successful. This includes the establishment of the database to identifY the
demand of teacher training, performance evaluation system and website to share
materials and teaching practice video clips.
Thirdly, the current teacher development programs need to be reorganized in that they
were developed to meet the demands of the past in which Korean teachers of English
had low level of competence in both language competence and teaching practice. This
can be conducted by the MEST in terms of teacher development policy.
Lastly, based on the recognition that acquiring TEE Certificate is not the goal on its
own but the means to encourage the professional development of the Korean teachers of
English and to provide evidence for planning teacher development programs, tailor
made teacher training programs need to be provided to the teachers with TEE Certificate.
Special attention needs to be paid to the teachers with TEE-M, which is the advanced
level certificate. They are expected to play roles as teacher mentors, trainers of teachers
and TEE-Ace examiners. However, although they acquire TEE-M, it is difficult to
acknowledge that they have competence to play the required roles, which means that
additional training needs to be provided for them .
246 Lee, Hyoshin
3. The Provision of the New Supporting Systems Meeting the New Strategies of TEE Certificate System in Korea
Firstly, further programs for teachers who obtained the highest level in the TEE
Certificate system are needed. This can be understood in conjunction with the current
context of English education in Korea. The government has been preparing for
introducing the new national English abi lity test (NEAT) including four language skills
for secondary school students. This has caused a big change in the implementation of the
national curriculum of English . Under the circumstances, more peer trainers who can
share the teaching context with teachers will be required.
Secondly, considering the current English classrooms, in which a small er number of
speaking and writing lessons have been provided, more attention must be paid to
speaking and writing lessons in order to prepare for the change of the National
Curriculum and the new National English test.
Lastly, a variety of institutes will be expected to play a liaison role for overseas
school-based teacher training in English speaking countries. This is based on the TEE
Certificate context in which the change of teacher education systems with more
emphasis on the school-based teacher training has been expected. The change in English
language teacher education from off-site teacher training and overseas training to on-site
(school-based) teacher training is strongly needed.
4. Contributions and Limitations of the Study and Further Studies
This research is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on the TEE
Certificate system. Due to the short history of the system, little attention has been paid to
this topic. By analyzing the documents produced by the MEST and ROEs and making
interviews with key stakeholders, the researcher has identified a variety of issues and
developed the structure of TEE Certificate system. This could contribute to attracting
further studies on the topic.
The present study has some limitations. First of all, as it employs qualitative methods
including document analysis and interviews, it has provided lin1ited infom1ation of the
general overview of the TEE system according to regions, gender or ages. The
researcher makes efforts to complement the limitation by providing the results of the
previous research. As little research has been conducted regarding the topic, however,
further research employing the quantitative method is needed to understand the current
overview of the TEE Certificate system. Secondly, the current study addresses the
beginning period of the implementation of the system during 2009-2010, further study
dealing with the change in the system including the suggestions of the current study is
Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 247
needed. Finally, although this study has placed an emphasis on the link of the TEE
system to professional development, it has not addressed the effects of the TEE system.
Therefore, it is desirable for further research to examine the effects of the system on the
change in professional development of Korean teachers of English.
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APPENDIX Interview questions (for supervisors)
1. What do you think the main aims of TEE Certificate are?
2. What is the procedure of the TEE Certificate system and how many teachers apply
for it?
3. Do you have any supporting systems to encourage teachers to apply for it or help
them to get the certificate?
4. Are you planning to achieve the certain number of TEE Certificate recipients?
Criti cal Reflection on the TEE Certifi cate System for Secondary School ...
5. Do you have the TEE Certificate system in relation to teacher education policy?
6. What do you expect from the implementation of TEE Certificate policy in your
ROE?
7. What kinds of inhibitors are there in the process of implementing the system?
249
*** Added question after visiting Gangwondo: T heard one or two ROEs decided not to
implement the TEE Certificate system. What do you think of it?
Interview questions (for teachers and examiners)
I. What do you think the main aims of TEE Certificate are? What do you think other
teachers view it?
2. What is the procedure of the TEE Certificate system? How many teachers in your
school or among other teachers apply for it?
3. Do you see the TEE Certificate system as a way of developing teacher
professionalism?
4. What did you expect when you got TEE Certificate? What do you expect now?
5. Do you think the current TEE Certificate system give impact on teachers? If so, in
what ways?
6. Did you get any supports from your ROE when you applied or got the course and
tests?
7. Can you think of any supporting systems for this system?
App li cable leve l: Teacher education
Key words: T EE CeJ1ificate, professional development
Hyoshin Lee
Dept. o f English Language and Literature
Konkuk University Glocal campus
268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si
Chungcheongbuk-do, 380-70 1, Korea
Email address: hslee20 12@ kku.ac. k:r
Rece ived in June, 20 12
Reviewed in Jul y, 201 2
Revised version received in August, 201 2