Wednesday, June 04, 2008 Koreans want better teachers
THE weather remains to be the top reason why Koreans flock to Baguio.
A cooler weather in a temperate country inspires Koreans to stay in the city, said Lee Jun Sung, president of the Korean Association of Baguio. Koreans usually come to Baguio to study English, which explains why tutorial schools mushroomed all over Baguio.
Lee said there are about 300 missionaries and 200 retirees here in Baguio. He said there are around 7,000 Koreans in Baguio.
During the summer or winter break in Korea, Alien Control Officer Antonio Prieto said their number rises to 10,000 to 15,000.
However, with the increasing number of tutorial schools, Lee said they are now also asking for an upgrading of standards of English teachers. He said they would now prefer teachers that could train them, using Test of English as a Foreign Language (Toefl) standards.
"Some teachers are not ready to teach," he said even as he welcomed the construction of more tutorial schools to hasten competition and to allow them to choose, which schools can offer them the best training.
Regulation of the put-up of tutorial schools is with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda). (RO)
