When English Teacher Is Appointed, Extra Points for Outstanding TOEFL Score Are to Be Given

When new English teachers are appointed to the middle and high schools next year, extra points are to be given for those who received excellent TOEFL score. When new teachers are appointed to the elementary schools, English spoken interview is to be introduced.

The Seoul Office of Education announced yesterday, "The government plans to add extra points for teacher candidates, who received the minimum TOEFL score of 600, beginning in next year to strengthen English education, and to introduce English spoken interview (perfect score = 10 points) instead of current English listening evaluation."

Extra points would be 3 points for TOEFL score between 600 and 610, 5 points for TOEFL score between 611 and 620, and 7 points for minimum TOEFL score of 621. Those who do not receive extra points are hardly likely to be appointed due to the high competition rates of the middle and high school teachers.

An official of the City Education Office said, "The government plans to increase the number of trainees whom the government sends to the English speaking countries for four weeks to improve the quality of English teachers, and to increase the number of native English speaking teachers from 9 to 40."

Seong-Chul Hong sungchul@donga.com