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More than half of teachers at schools with a high number of immigrant students face challenges communicating with pupils from multicultural backgrounds due to their limited Korean language skills, a recent study shows.

ccording to a report released on Sunday by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), a lack of policy support often exacerbates this problem, potentially increasing teachers' workloads and undermining the quality of education they provide.

The report, which surveyed 342 teachers from 95 elementary and middle schools nationwide, revealed that 76.9 percent of respondents cited the increasing number of students from foreign families who do not speak Korean as the most challenging aspect of their work. Additionally, 59.1 percent reported heightened workloads and burnout due to the need to support these students, while 44.5 percent pointed to insufficient policy and institutional support as a significant issue.

The schools included in the research are those where students with immigration backgrounds make up at least 30% of the total student body. Small schools with fewer than 10 such students were excluded from the study. As of last year, 350 elementary, middle, and high schools in Korea met these criteria, according to the report.

The report highlights that the difficulty in communication extends beyond students to their parents as well. About 42.1 percent of teachers cited challenges in communicating with immigrant parents , and 36.8 percent reported non-cooperative attitudes and indifference from these parents regarding their children's education.

Teachers emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach to address these issues. They recommended providing assistance with school integration and learning by students from immigrant backgrounds, offering tailored educational support for their parents, and implementing multicultural education programs for both immigrant and non-immigrant students. Additionally, they urged the development of specialized training for teachers in this area.

The report highlights the growing need for educational preparation and response strategies as the overall school-age population continues to decline, while the number of students from immigrant families increases steadily.

"Schools in immigrant-dense areas are struggling to conduct normal educational activities," the report stated, "with increased burdens and teacher burnout becoming more severe."

To ensure these schools operate effectively, the report calls for establishing a legal foundation for multicultural education and implementing national-level legal, institutional, and policy support for multicultural education.