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Koreans value education very highly and they pay large sums of money for their children to have the best possible learning opportunities. Learning English is very important in Korea and students are highly motivated to do well in English classes.
Hagwons are an interesting component of Korean education and are similar to 'cram schools'. They are run privately and the English hagwons employ native English-speaking graduates to facilitate the learning of English. Students in Korea attend both academic and non-academic hagwons. Some of the non-academic subjects offered are art, computers, swimming, abacus, and calligraphy. Some hagwons for high school students exist solely to prepare students for university entrance examinations.
Although it would seem natural for students to dread the rigor of additional lessons that extend their school day well into the late evening hours and require additional homework, many students enjoy hagwons, where the teachers are often more animated and more interesting than some of the teachers in their regular schools and where the opportunity exists to socialize with their friends. Also, in many cases, the lessons studied in hagwons provide an intellectual challenge for students who are bored with the standardized curriculum of their regular schools.
Hagwons are located in all parts of South Korea. They are often situated near train stations, enabling students to transport themselves easily to hagwons directly from school. The Choral English College has franchised hagwons for Mathematics and English throughout South Korea. A Korean hagwon can be comprised of a few rooms in a building through to a whole building with more than one floor of teaching rooms. Large hagwons usually teach adults as well.
Unlike most hagwons, the Choral English College has its own English curriculum, designed especially for Korean elementary-aged students. The CEC English curriculum has five comprehensive and fully resourced teaching programs and students may choose to study all or a combination of these programs.
They include:
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Core English Program
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Total Physical Response
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Choral Speaking (poetry)
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English Writing and Grammar
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Sounds-Letters-Words!
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Each of these programs has been written in line with current English as a Foreign Language research. Interactive CD-ROM multimedia technology is a fundamental part of the student's lessons in the classroom and at home with 32 CD-ROMs available for students.
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