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| An elementary school student of a multiracial family watches an online learning program on television in this Aug. 27, 2020 photo. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han |
By Bahk Eun-ji
The government has decided to strengthen Korean language learning support for children from multicultural families this year, according to the education ministry, Sunday. The measure comes out of concerns that such children have difficulty adapting to school life and developing Korean language skills as they were provided mostly with online classes along with the shutdown of schools amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
"Children from multicultural families can better develop their Korean language skills and adapt to school life here when they interact with their teachers and classmates. But they have had difficulty in doing so since last year, taking online classes at home due to the pandemic," a ministry official said. "Some of them also had problems in using the online classes due to insufficient Korean language abilities."
The ministry plans to produce and distribute additional Korean language education programs that multicultural students can use to study online with more interactive functions.
This year it will increase the number of schools that operate special classes helping such children adapt to school life. The ministry will also create a new Korean language education training course for teachers.
The proportion of multiracial students in Korea is steadily increasing. In 2015, the number stood at 82,536, accounting for 1.35 percent of all students, but it increased to 147,378 last year, accounting for 2.75 percent.
