This case study has been carried out in order to analyze the needs of the various education agents including the principal, English teachers, students, and school parents in terms of an English program at an alternative school. Unlike a general school...
This case study has been carried out in order to analyze the needs of the various education agents including the principal, English teachers, students, and school parents in terms of an English program at an alternative school. Unlike a general school, an alternative school that doesn’t follow a national curriculum is developing an English curriculum autonomously and implementing it freely. In such alternative schools, it is very important to minimize the difficulties in the implementation of the education curriculum. It is also necessary to develop a high-quality customized curriculum as to meet the needs of the various education agents. Regarding the systematic curriculum development and implementation, it is believed that a needs analysis is a mandatory process.
Therefore, I selected Sungmisan School as one of the alternative schools to analyze. I figured out the needs of the principal, English teachers, students and school parents in terms of the English program. Also I looked into how much the current English program reflects these needs. The research questions are as follows:
1) How are the strategies for the English program at Sungmisan School being implemented?
2) What are the needs of the various education agents (a principal, English teachers, students, and school parents) regarding the English program at Sungmisan School?
3) How much are the needs of the various education agents (a principal, English teachers, students, and school parents) reflected on the English program of Sungmisan School?
In order to answer these three research questions, I collected all the documents related to the English curriculum at Sungmisan School. Also, I collected data by carrying out a survey and interview. The participants are 97 students (from 3rd to 12th grade) who are currently taking the English courses and 27 parents of these students. The collected data was analyzed through frequency analysis, transcription, memoing and coding. The major findings of the study were as follows:
The English program at Sungmisan School revolves around the head teacher so that the program can sustain consistency and stability. The program offers students basic training in four skills of the English language. The classes are cut off by grades and 3rd grade students start to take English classes. In a week there are two classes which cover a course book and a reading book for 3~6 graders. For the higher grades, 8~12 graders, the curriculum is a bit different. They have two class and these classes focus on Reading/Writing and Listening/Speaking. The classes are taught mostly in English, but teachers use Korean in the case that students don’t understand. At the end of the semester, students are evaluated by the final tests. They are not given an actual grade, but there is a pass/non pass policy for the higher grades. Other than the regular curriculum, there is also an English club that students can join.
After conducting a needs analysis of the English program, it was concluded that there were many needs in for each respective group. The introduction time for English classes, the number of students in each class, class schedule, and teacher’s language coincide and are important for all three groups (English teachers, students, and school parents). On the other hand, the objective of the program, class organization, class activities, class content, and evaluation were subject to change on a teacher to teacher basis. Furthermore, the English club, setting up the English classes at the farm school and other external factors of these English classes clearly showed that the needs of the groups were very different. The suggestions based on the results of the study are as follows:
First of all, based on the educational objective of the English program, classes that focus more on communication and interaction are required. The students and school parents have demanded that more verbal-based classes be offered, because the verbal-oriented classes improve the students’ ability to speak. Thus, the curriculum should be changed to accommodate for these demands and it is necessary that the school open new conversational English classes or switch the current L&S book to books more suited to increasing verbal fluency and aptitude.
Secondly, there should be different ways of organizing classes for grades. These organizational structures should be different for the lower grades and the higher grades. Since the needs of four groups in regards to organizing the classes are all different, it seems to be right for the students to be separated by grade.
Thirdly, bilingual teachers who are able to speak both English and Korean fluently are appropriate for this school. Both the students and the school parents are demanding bilingual teachers. Thus, it is good to have a native English speaker who can speak Korean or a Korean teacher who can speak English for classes. If a native English speaker who cannot speak Korean is teaching the class, an assistant teacher should be present to make sure that the class quality is at its highest.
Fourthly, motivating students with interesting and fun activities and continuously developing new content to help the teacher-student interaction is necessary. The students preferred quizzes and game activities along with songs, chants and audiovisual aids. Thus, teachers should always take into consideration the most effective means of teaching class when preparing. Also, it is necessary to develop class materials for Sungmisan School just like the pre-existed class using authentic materials by the head teacher.
In, addition, students should be encouraged to seek extracurricular help outside of the English class itself. The English club is a great way for students to learn and to interact with others in English. The English club named 그까짓 꺼 is highly satisfactory for both the students and school parents. Hence, it is necessary to let all students know the English club is available for them. It is equally important to check for students who are interested in the club and to find out their availability. Moreover, other English clubs suited for students with specific English needs should also be considered.
Lastly, a good working environment for English teachers should be made. One of the concerns from school parents is the high turnover rate for English teachers. This is a problem that the teachers are currently dealing with as well. Currently, the other English teachers are having difficulties working and communicating with the school due to the resignation of the head teacher, As a result, the classes have been negatively affected. The role of the head teacher is important in this system. It is head teacher who outlines the curriculum and before her resignation, everyone was on the same page and working as one unit. This resulted in a cohesive unit that knew the exact direction of the English program. In retrospect, it seems that it was the role of the head teacher that made the program go well and it gave the program positive influence. However, at the same time it gave a lot of pressure on the teacher because it is teacher-dependent program. Therefore, it is necessary to think of other ways to direct the English program. If necessary, bringing in consultants could be an alternative way to resolve the current situation. To conclude, it is necessary to listen to the difficulties that English teachers have and to encourage English teachers to stay long term by establishing an adequate pay scale.
This case study indicates the importance of a needs analysis as a part of developing and implementing a systematic and effective curriculum in an alternative school which is autonomously developing an English curriculum and implementing it freely. Identifying the needs of various education agents including a principal, English teachers, students and school parents, it is possible to reflect their needs on the English program so that satisfaction level of them toward the program would be raised. And it eventually makes it possible to implement the program effectively, so that it is necessary to conduct a needs analysis in an alternative school.
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