227

Ellglish Teaching, Vol. 67, No. 3, Autumn 20 12

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for • * Secondary School Teachers of EnglIsh

Hyoshin Lee

(Konkuk University Glocal Campus)

Lee, Hyoshin. (2012). Critical reflection on the TEE certificate system for

secondary school teachers of English. English Teaching, 67(3),227-249.

A new in-service teaching certificate system, the TEE Certificate system, was

launched for Korean teachers of English with the aim of encouraging them to use

English in their daily teaching practice. This study attempts to investigate key issues

regarding the current development of the TEE Certificate system and addresses the

implications for a successful TEE policy in Korea. It employs document analysis

produced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Teclmology and to key Regional

Offices of Education and semi-structured interviews with 15 supervisors, 11 teachers

and 2 TEE Certificate exam iners. The research findings suggest that there is a gap

regarding the aims of the TEE Certificate system among stakeholders, leading to the

different attitudes toward it. Those who have positive perceptions of the system see it

as a tool for encouraging Korean teachers of English to develop their English language

teaching competence. On the other hand, those who have negative attitudes see the

negative aspects such as another type of burden on teachers and even the possibility of

a form of lay-off. The new strategies of how to use the system are required to make it

play a proper role in terms of the provision of an English-fi'iendly learning

environment and supporting teachers' professional development.

I. INTRODUCTION

With an increasing awareness of the importance of English education in a society

whose prosperity relies upon globalization, information technology and communication,

much emphasis on the provision of a high quality of English language teaching has been

placed in the state sector throughout non-English-speaking countries , The pivotal role of

teachers of English in the process of teaching and learning English has been highlighted

* This research was sponsored by the British Council Korea.

228 Lee, Hyoshin

and the idea of 'Teaching English through English (TETE) or Teaching English in

English (TEE)' has become a main strategy in many other countries, particularly in an

EFL context where most students are rarely exposed to English in their daily lives

(Foreman & Min, 2010; Jin-Hwa Lee, 2007; Jang-Hak Moon & Kyong-Hyon Pyo,

2010).

Since English education has become a political and social agenda as well as an

educational one in South Korea, mainly concerning excessive expenditure on private

language instruction and the lack of opportunities to learn English of the students with

poor family background or in rural areas, the Korean government has paid much attention

to the high quality of English language teaching in the state sector. With a critical concern

about the Korean EFL context, where most Korean students have rare chances to use

English in daily life, the government started to introduce various policies, such as

recruiting native English speaking teachers, English villages and camps, extra English

lessons and so on, in order to provide learning opportunities which expose students to

English as much as possible.

In this line, the Korean government has taken TEE as a 'meta-strategy ' in English

education with an assumption that a teacher's use of English in an EFL classroom would

provide students with opporttmities to use the target language with more input, and

ultimately students could gain the communicative competence required in the current

global society (Hyo-Shin Lee & Norton, 2011). Many experts have argued that

successful TEE requires sufficient English proficiency of teachers, which is one of the

biggest concerns regarding non-native English speaking teachers (Sung-Yeon Kim, 2002,

2008), and that effective TEE needs to consider proper tasks for TEE as well as teachers'

and learners' proficiency levels (Jin-Hwa Lee, 2007). Considering these concerns, the

Korean government has provided a variety of teacher education programs for teachers of

English, such as 6-month residential or non-residential intensive programs, short-term

conversation courses and overseas training courses. Despite various efforts made by the

teachers, teacher educators and policy makers, the issue of the language teaching

competence of the Korean teachers of English has been critically raised by the general

public and it has become a social issue as well as an educational one (Seok-Hwan Oh,

2011).

In order to reinforce the TEE strategy, the government introduced a TEE Certificate

system with an expectation that the Korean teachers of English would improve their

TEE ability and provide their students with a more English-friendly learning

environment (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2009). The TEE

Certificate is awarded to the Korean teachers of English when they pass the two

different tests, knowledge and teaching practice tests, based on the model that Seoul

Metropolitan of Office of Education (SMOE) implemented in 2009. The system

Critical Re fl ection on the TEE Cenificate System for Secondary School. .. 229

implemented in most Regional Offices of Education (ROEs) are very similar to the one

used in SMOE and gradually developed through a slightly altered method based on each

ROE's own context in the local community. However, the system has brought a hot issue

to the teachers of English who have already received the Certificate of English language

teaching and has not been implemented in a few ROEs.

This paper aims to investigate the key issues regarding the current development of the

TEE Certificate system and addresses the implications for a successful TEE policy in

Korea. The specific research questions are as follows :

1) What are the key issues of the current TEE Certificate system including

aims, prerequisite requirements and procedure?

2) What kinds of supporting systems are there to encourage teachers to

participate in the TEE Certificate system?

3) What are the implications for a successful TEE policy?

II. BACKGROUND

1. Definition of TEE

TEE (Teaching English in English) or TETE (Teacrung English through English) is not

a very innovative approach in the English language teaching area. Using the target

language in foreign language classrooms was suggested in Direct Method and

Audiolingual Method, as Richard and Rogers (1986) mentioned. It started to be

highlighted since the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach became a main

approach in English lar1guage teaching. Halliwell (1992) argues that the use of the target

language in the classroom helps learners to improve their abilities to infer the meaning of

the target language and to develop the sense of using the target language in a real language

use context by being exposed to the target language.

In the Korean EFL context, the importance of teachers ' English competence in an EFL

classroom has been emphasised by many experts since CLT was introduced into the

national cuniculum of English as a main teaching and learning approach (Jun-Eon Park,

Geong-Seok Kim, Hee-Gyeong Choi & Keong-Han Kim, 2008). Korean Institute of

Curriculum and Evaluation (KlCE) (2009) recently defined TEE competence as ' the

ability to manage the English-medium commw1icative language teaching classrooms in

which a teacher communicates with students and strengthens the interaction arnong

students. More specifically, according to KICE, there are three main components in TEE

competence; knowledge in English teaching, Engli sh teaching practice in a communicative

230 Lee, Hyoshin

way and TEE English proficiency.

Despite its general consensus on the importance of teaching English in the Korean EFL

classrooms, there has not existed an agreed definition of what exactly TEE means. It has

been argued that TEE does not mean that teachers should teach English only in English

and not be allowed to use their mother tongues at all. Finocciaro and Brumfit (1983, cited

in Richards & Rodgers 1986, pp. 67-68) wrote as follows; "Judicious use of native

language is accepted where feasible" . That is, a good English teacher should make a

decision of when and how much he or she uses the mother tongue in the language

classrooms where the target language is mainly used, based on the proper lmderstanding of

learners' level, learning objectives and learning environment. This should be considered in

the Korean ELT context where the levels of learners are very low in tem1S of

communicative skills using English.

Since TEE has recently become a critical agenda in the Korean ELT context, some

research has been conducted regarding the issue of TEE. The research findings show that

Korean teachers of English have positive attitudes towards the effects of TEE (lung-Min

Go, 2008; Chan-Kyu Min, 2008). Interestingly, however, it was found that the teachers

recognised the concept of TEE in various ways (KICE, 2001). The KICE presented that 45%

of teachers used English as a way of instructing students during the lesson, and 35.4% of

them used it when modelling in English. Twelve percent of them said that they used

English when explaining the learning objectives and 3.8% of teachers replied they teach

grammar in English. One point four percent of teachers used English in explaining

sentence structure. This indicates that Korean teachers of English do not have any clear

understanding of what TEE means and how it should be implemented in the English

language classrooms. Teachers' different understanding of TEE makes their teaching

different (Dae-Min Kang, 2008) and it is likely that this has caused teachers to have

anxiety of or negative attitudes towards TEE.

Considering the fact that Korean teachers of English do not seem ready to adopt a TEE

approach in their daily classrooms, despite their positive attitudes towards the effects of

TEE in terms of English language learning, it is wOlth examining how the TEE Certificate

system has been implemented and identifYing what support systems are needed.

2. The Context of TEE Certificate System

It has been strongly recommended to Korean teachers of English that they teach

English using English, and their language teaching competence has been a critical issue.

The government has provided them with a variety of teacher education programs to

improve their English competence including overseas training, 1, 3 and 6 month

residential intensive training, and so on. In-service teacher education, with the aim of

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 23 1

encouraging English teachers to use English in all their classes by helping them improve

their teaching skills as well as their English proficiency for better teaching has been at the

centre of the current English education policy in Korea. To achieve this aim, the

government introduced the TEE Certificate system and has sponsored the six month

intensive teacher training programs through which about 1,500 English teachers across the

nation have attended a six-month, intensive, off-site training course at various universities

and training centers (Byung-min Lee, Yoo-jin Yoon, & Hyo-shin Lee, 2011). Additional

programs are provided by the ROEs for the teachers of English.

The TEE Certificate is awarded to the Korean teachers of English when they pass the

two different tests, tests of teaching knowledge and practice. The TEE Certificate system

was originally introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) in 2009

based on the research on it with KlCE in 2008 (KlCE, 2009; MEST, 2009). SMOE

introduced the TEE Certificate system to achieve the following four goals: (a) to develop a

diagnostic tool to identify the language competence and teaching competence of teachers

of English, (b) to develop the tool for the teachers ' self-development, (c) to improve

students' and parent's confidence level in teachers' professional competence, and (d) to

encourage the teachers of English to improve the level ofteaching quality and passion.

The TEE Certificate systems implemented in all ROEs have a similar framework based

on the model of SMOE since it was first introduced in SMOE. In order to understand a

general picture of the TEE Certificate system, it seems worth looking at the frame of TEE

Certificate in SMOE. There are two types of the TEE Certificate, TEE-Ace (TA) and TEE­

Master (TM) introduced by SMOE in 2009-2010, as shown Figure 1.

T EE-Ace (TA)

Cel1ificate

T EE-Master

(TM)

Certificate

FIGURE 1

TEE Certificate Levels and Procedure

More than 3 year

of teaching

q TKT experience

TPT More than 30

TEE points*

More than 7 year T EE

of teaching H

professiona l

experience f-Y course

More than 80 TKT

TEE points TPT

Given TEE-A

Cel1ificate ,....J... '---Y

Awards (fmancial

support for self-

study)

Given TEE-M

Cel1ificate

H Teacher mentor

f-Y Awards(financia l

supp0l1 for self-

study or I month

overseas training)

232 Lee, Hyoshin

In order to apply for the TA Certificate, applicants need to obtain more than 3 years of

teaching experience and more than 30 TEE points. For the TM Certificate, applicants are

required to have more than 7 years of teaching experience and more than 80 TEE points.

Incentives are provided to encourage teachers to apply for the TEE Certificate. For the

teachers who gained the TA Certificate, the certificate, 10 TEE points in the area of self­

development and financial SUppOlt for 3 months of self-study at any private language

institute are provided. For those who obtained the TM Certificate, the certificate, 1

month overseas training or financia l support for 3-months of se lf-study at any private

language institute are provided. TA recipients are expected to demonstrate TEE lessons to

their colleagues, while TM recipients are expected to play the roles of teachers ' mentors,

trainers ofteachers or TEE-Ace examiners.

Since the TEE Certificate system was introduced by SMOE in 2009, MEST

encouraged ROEs to implement it with the fo llowing aims: (a) to emphasize more

exposure to the English in English classrooms with the awareness of the importance of

teachers' target language use in EFL classrooms, (b) to satisfy demands on the provision of

proper teacher education programs for teachers of English in various levels in terms of

English and teaching competence, with particular reference to TEE competence, (c) to aim

at having all of the Korean teachers of English be capable of teaching English in English

by 2012, (d) to suggest that TEE Certificate tests be used as a diagnostic tool in order to

provide teachers with step-by-step and tailor-made teacher training programs, (e) to

manage the data base for the effective provision of teacher education programs, and (f) to

screen the highest qualified teachers and support them as leaders of teachers (Ministry of

Education, Science and Technology, 11 September, 2009, PR).

The TEE Certificate system is based on an assumption that the failure of English

education in state sectors is caused by the lack of real use of Engl ish in the Korean EFL

context. This assumption led the Korean government to put much emphasis on the

teachers' use of English in English classrooms and introduce TEE Certificate system. It

expects the Korean teachers of English to improve their TEE ability and provide Korean

students with a more English-friendly learning environment. The system has been

implemented in a simi lar way as SMOE introduced in 2009 but not been fully

implemented in aU ROEs but gradual ly developed and implemented in consideration of

the context of each ROE.

3. Previous Research on the TEE Certificate System

Although the TEE Certificate has been a critical concern among Korean teachers of

English and policy makers, li ttle attention has been paid by researchers. This seems to be

due to the short history of the introduction of the system in the context of English

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for SecondalY School... 23 3

education in Korea. Recently, attempts to explore some key issues regarding the TEE

Certificate system have been made (Sang-Hee Hong, 2011; Jae-Myung Kim, 2012; Lee et

aI., 2011; Yu-Ri Lee, 2012).

Considering the fact that the system highly entails the active participation of Korean

teachers of English, much attention has been paid to teachers' attitudes towards it. Jae­

Myung Kim (2012) examined the perceptions of Korean high school teachers of English

by conducting a questionnaire survey. The research findings suggested that a small number

of Korean high school teachers of English (13.3%) saw the TEE Certificate system as a

useful tool for improving teaching ability in their daily teaching practice and that most of

the high school teachers of English who participated in the survey did not think it was an

appropriate tool to assess teaching competence.

The negative perception of secondary school teachers of English on the TEE

Certificate system was also found in the research conducted by Lee et al. (2011). The

research indicated that most Korean secondary school teachers of English were not

satisfied with the system (average 2.17 in middle schools and 2.27 in high schools out of

5.00). It also illustrated that most secondary school teachers of English thought neither it

contributed to the improvement of teaching (average 2.72 in middle schools and 2.74 in

high schools out of 5.00) nor helped them develop their professionalism. It further found

that the teachers did not want to apply for the TEE Certificate system continuously

(average 2.29 in middle schools and 2.32 in high schools out of 5.00).

In regard to the low satisfaction level of Korean secondary teachers of English with

the TEE Certificate system, Yu-Ri Lee (2011) and Sang-Hee Hong (2012) attempted to

identify the reasons . Yu-Ri Lee (2011) critically saw that the TEE Certificate system was

designed to measure teacher competence in a quantitative way. This could lead to

missing many parts of the process of teaching and leaming. She also argued that the lack

of standardized assessment methods of the TEE Certificate system at a national level

could cause the reliability and validity of the system. Sang-Hee Hong (2012) also

examined the reasons for why the system was not very welcomed by the teachers . The

most significant reason suggested by her research was that the TEE Celtificate system

did not take into account the dynamics and diversities of classrooms. It is interesting that

teachers also pointed out that the system could be used for personal purposes such as

promotion not for public purpose such as the improvement of daily teaching practice.

An interesting point is that elementary school teachers of English have slightly

positive attitudes towards the TEE Certificate system, while secondary school teachers

of English showed relatively negative attitudes (Lee et aI., 20 II). It was found that

elementary school teachers of English believed that the TEE Certificate system helped

improve teaching practice (average 3.33 out of 5.00) and that the system contributed to

their professional development (average 3.39 out of 5.00). It was also found that they

234 Lee, Hyoshin

wanted to keep implementing the system (average 3.06 out of 5.00). The different

attitudes between elementary and secondary school teachers need to be reflected on the

process of developing the system in the future.

III. RESEARCH METHODS

1. Data Collection

This study employs document analysis and interviews in order to discover the factual

components of the implementation of the TEE Certificate system in the key ROEs. The

documents produced by the MEST and ROEs in 2009-2010 were collected and analyzed

The study also carried out semi-standardized interviews in which the interviewer

(researcher) worked out a set of questions in advance, but was flexible in using those

questions depending on the initial answers given by the interviewees. The interviews

were used to triangulate the information collected in the document analysis. The data

collected and presented in this paper were translated into English from Korean.

Interviews were conducted with 28 interviewees including supervisors, teachers and

TEE Certificate examiners as key stakeholders concerning the TEE Certificate system.

Individual interviews were carried out with 3 teachers in Seoul and 1 teacher in Daejeon

at first to explore the general perspective of school teachers of English regarding TEE

Certificate. Then interviews were conducted with IS supervisors who were in charge of

the TEE Certificate systems in 9 ROEs to gain more factual information. Due to the

constraints of time, both face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted. The

interviews with 5 supervisors in Gwangju, leollanamdo, Daegu, Incheon, and

leo II abukdo, and 1 teacher who was working on TEE Certificate in Daejeon were

carried out on the phone. A group discussion with 7 teachers in Seoul and 2 TEE

Certificate examiners was also conducted to gather further information about the

teachers' and examiners' perceptions on the TEE Certificate system. The details of

informants are as follows:

TABLE 1

Interviewee's Information (28 interviewees in total)

A. Face-to-face interviews with supervisors (10 interviewees)

Jeju (2): Mr. A, Mr. B

Busan (3): Mr. C, Ms. A, Ms. B

Seoul (3): Ms. C, Ms. 0, Mr. 0

Gangwondo (2): Mr. E, Ms. E

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School . . .

B. Phone interviews with supervisors (5 interviewees)

Daegu: Mr. F

Gwangju : Mr. G

Incheon: Mr. H

Geonnam: Mr. I

Geonbuk: Ms. F

C. Phone interviews with a teacher ( 1 interview)

235

Daejeon : Mr. J (a middle school teacher working on TEE Celtificate system in the RO E)

D. Face-to-face interviews with teachers in Seoul (3 interviewees)

Mr. K (a high school teacher - TEE-M)

Ms. G (a high school- TEE-A)

Ms. H (a middle school teacher - not app lied for TEE Certificate)

E. Individual interview with TEE Celtificate examiners in Seoul (2 interviewees)

Ms. I (a v ice principal - a member of TEE test TF team and examiner)

Dr. C (an examiner for primary chao I teacher, a professor in a university)

F. Group interview with teachers in Seoul (7 interviewees)

Mr. L (a high school teacher, TEE-M)

Mr. M (a high school teacher, TEE-A)

Ms. J (a high school teacher, TEE-M)

Mr. N (a middle schoo l teacher, TEE-A)

Ms. K (a middle school teacher, TEE-A)

Ms. L (a high school teacher, not app lied for TEE Celtificate)

Ms. M (a middle school teacher, not applied for TEE Certificate)

2. Data Analysis

Data analysis in qualitative research is a dynamic and creative process, which follows

data co ll ection. Bearing in mind that interviewing is for 'seeing the world from the

perspective of our subjects' (G lassner & Loughlin, 1987, p. 37 cited in Silvem1an, 2000,

p. 125), 1 tried to listen to the authentic voices of their experiences regarding the issues

addressed in the research and w1derstand what the voices represent. To do this, I kept

writing key emerging themes while carrying out interviews, read my field notes and

developed concepts and propositions.

Based on the research questions set up in the beginning of the research and the

concepts and propositions developed throughout the interviews, the following criteria

are used to examine the TEE status in each ROE.

236 Lee, Hyoshin

1. Aims are reviewed to see what the main purpose of the TEE Certificate

system in each ROE is.

2. Pre-requisite qualifications are looked at in order to understand who are

eligible for the TEE Certificate.

3. TEE required points for TEE Certificate application are reviewed to

discern how each ROE selects the applicants.

4. Procedure is examined to see the process of how the TEE Certificate is given

to the teachers .

5. Incentives to encounge teachers to apply for the TEE Certificate are

dealt with in order to see what kinds of benefits have been provided and what

supporting systems should be provided in the future.

6. Expected roles of TEE Certificate recipients are explored to identify what

roles the teachers who successfully get the TEE Certificate are expected to

play and any support systems for this .

IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

1. Key Issues of the Current TEE Certificate System

Key issues of the current TEE certificate system addresses the three questions:

What are the aims of TEE Certificate system?

What are the pre-requisite qualifications teachers should have in order to be

eligible?

How can teachers become TEE teachers? How many stages are there in the

TEE Certificate system?

1) What are the aims of the TEE Certificate policy?

The document analysis has shown that the key ROEs have set similar aims of the TEE

Certificate system. They are summarized as follows:

to improve students' communicative ability 111 English by providing an

English-speaking classroom environment

to reduce private expenditure on learning English

to improve the TEE competence of Korean teachers of English

to encourage teachers to participate in the continuous professional

development

Critica l Reflection on the TEE Cel1i fi cate System for Secondary Schoo l . 237

to provide tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs

to recover the confidence of students and parents in teachers' language

teaching competence

to replace the ro les of native English speaking teachers with Korean teachers

of English

to secure a database of teachers of English to identify the demands of teacher

training

By analyzing the documents and making interviews, the researcher has developed the

structure of the policy as shown in Figure 2. To sum up the structure of the TEE

Certificate system, the TEE Celtificate system aims to support Korean teachers of

English in order for all of them to develop their TEE competence by 2012. The aim will

be achieved by providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs and

encouraging them to pmticipate in the continuous professional development. Specific

means to do this will be to establish supporting systems such as the database to identify

the demand of teacher training, a perfom1ance evaluation system and a website to share

materials and teaching practice video clips. Based on the structure of the policy, it is

argued that the key point to make the TEE Certificate system successful is dependent on

the provision and management of teacher training programs. Therefore, emphasis should

be placed on teacher training rather than the operation of the TEE Certificate. This

means that the procedure of the TEE Certificate system should be designed to link it to

teacher training programs.

238 Lee, Hyoshin

FIGURE 2

Structure of TEE Certificate system

• to achi eve students' communicative ability in English by providing

Engli sh-speaking classroom environment

• to reduce private expenditure on learning English

• to improve the TEE competence of Korean teachers of English

• to encourage them to participate In continuous professional

EFFECTS development

• to provide ta ilor-made and step-by-step teacher training programs

• to recover the confidence of students and parents 111 teachers'

language teaching competence

• to replace the roles of nat ive English speaking teachers

• to set-up data base to identify the demands of teacher training

[:)

• to support Korean English teachers in order for all of them to

AIMS develop the TEE competence by 2012

c:;;:, Percentage of teachers who can teach English in English : 58%('07)

----> 65%(' I 0) ---->80%(' II) ----> I 00%(' 12)

MEANS

."V". • providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher training prgrams

• encouraging them to participate In the continuous professional

development

• establishing support systems including the database for teacher

training programs, performance evaluation system and website to

share material s and classroom teaching video clips.

The interviews with participants have found that they think the purpose of using the

TEE test has slightly changed. It was initially designed to be used as a diagnostic test to

identify teachers' level of teaching competence and provide proper teacher training

programs. A vice-principal who had participated in developing the TEE test before it

was introduced as the TEE Certificate in SMOE said,

I had a different opinion about how to use the TEE test. I don't like the

certificate system as a tool to classify teachers into different levels. I strongly

recommended that we should use it as an internal source for securing a

database to see what types of teachers we have and what kinds of training

programs we need to provide. (face-to-face interview with Ms. I, a vice

Cri tica l Re fl ection on the TEE Cel1i ficate System for Secondary School ... 239

principal).

It has been fo und that people recognize the main purpose of the TEE Certificate in a

different way. Some teachers see it as a process of pushing teachers with low levels of

TEE competence to leave the teaching profession.

For me, TEE Certificate is a kind of trend. I think I should get it even with a

lower level, which is not very demanding. But not many teachers are like me.

To be honest, I think the TEE Certificate system makes the gap between the

teachers in a high level and a low level of competence bigger and bigger. One

of my co lleagues who is over 50 regarded the TEE Certificate system as a form

of lay-off. He seems to ignore it but I think he is very stressed. (face-to-face

interview with Ms. G, a high school teacher with TEE-Ace Certificate)

It has been fo und that there is a big gap among the stakeholders regarding the aims of

the TEE system designed by the govemment and the perception of Korean teachers of

English. As shown in the Figure 2, the main aim of the system is to support them to

develop the TEE competence through providing tailor-made and step-by-step teacher

training programs and establishing support system. By contrast, not a small number of

Korean teachers of English seem to have the perception that the system will classify

them into different levels and even can be used to lay-off of incompetent teachers.

2) What are pre-requisite qualifications teachers should have in order to be eligible?

In general, the key ROEs ask applicants to meet similar pre-requisite qualifications

and TEE points based on the indicator scales to be eligible to apply for the TEE

Certificate. The contents of the TEE Certificate pre-requisite conditions are based on the

two areas: experiences of taking training courses and self-development. The ways of

acquiring points are also similar among ROEs.

To screen the applicants' linguisti c competence, the teachers' performance is

examined during language courses and IETTP provided by regional teacher training

centers and overseas training etc. To see how teachers develop their professionalism by

themselves, the experience of TEE lesson demonstration, post-graduate degrees, the

result of public English tests, contribution to the development of English education and

so on are included.

The TEE points are related to the process of teachers' professional development,

which corresponds to the aim of the TEE Certifi cate system in that it is focused on

encouraging teachers to develop TEE competence through a vari ety of professional

240 Lee, Hyoshin

development methods. Considering the fact that the priority was given to language

competence as a main content of professional development of Korean teachers of

English rather than teaching practice (Kyung-Suk Chang, Byeong-Cheon Lee, & Kyu-Tae

Chung, 2011; Sung-Yeon Kim, Hye-Ryun Kim, So-Young Lee, & Kil-Joo Woo, 2010;

Lee et aI., 2011), it is recommended that the current professional development programs

need to be reorganized in order to meet the new context.

3) How can teachers become TEE teachers? How many stages are there in the TEE

system?

Most of the TEE Certificate systems of ROEs have 2 or 3 stages in each level. The

main stages are TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) and TPT (Teaching Practice Test).

TKT and TPT are used as the main stages in Seoul, Daegu, Jeollabukdo and Jejudo. A

computer-based TKT has been replaced by a TKT on-line teacher training program in

Seoul from 2011.

There are some ROEs in which other instrument to see teachers' English competence

are included in the stages of screening TEE Certificate applicants. Busan ROE employs

EPT (English Proficiency Test) as the first stage, and Daejeon ROE takes EWT (English

Writing Test) before TKT and TPT. ESPT (English Speaking Proficiency Test) is used in

Gwangju. On the other hand, it is interesting to look at Incheon in which TKT is not

used as a stage since they believe that teachers of English in Korea have already had

enough knowledge of teaching and do not need to take extra teaching knowledge tests.

The following shows this belief.

I am sure that TEE Certificate system has many good points. One of the best

points is to encourage teachers to think of the importance of professional

development. Last year, the applicants for the cyber training programs were not

many but this year we have many more applicants than last year .... I think this

shows evidence that TEE Certificate system encourages or pushes teachers to

do something for their professional development. ... However, it costs too

much .... Anyway, the fact that you are working in a school as an English

teacher, it means you are qualified in English language teaching and it also

means you have enough knowledge of teaching. We decided not to include

TKT in the procedure of TEE Certificate. (Phone interview with a supervisor)

Another interesting point is that a language course is provided for the teachers who

have passed the highest level. This shows that teachers' English competence is regarded

as the most important criteria in looking at Korean teachers of English, as Hyo-Shin Lee

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 24 1

(2007) argued: Too much emphasis on English competence is seen in the title of TEE

Certificate in Gwangju, TEE-N(Native). Teachers with TEE-A are supposed to take a 6

month language course to become a native-like English speaking teacher.

2. Supporting Systems of the TEE Certificate System

Supporting systems of the TEE Certificate system includes two issues:

What are ROEs planning to encourage teachers to apply for the policy?

What support do supervisors need to run the TEE policy more efficiently?

1) What are ROEs planning to encourage teachers to apply for the policy?

Since the TEE Certificate system has not been very welcomed by most Korean

teachers of English as shown in the previous research (Sang-Hee Hong, 2012; Jae­

Myung Kim, 2012; Lee et aI., 201 1; Yu-Ri Lee, 2011), each ROE provides incentives to

encourage them to participate in the system. The main incentives are Certificate in

difference levels, some scholarships and an opportunity to take overseas training or

financial support for se lf-study at any private language center.

Further training programs after TEE Certificate procedure have not been considered in

most ROEs. The fo llowing are the reasons for this .

It is believed that the TEE Certificate system itself gives considerable stress

and burden to teachers, and no more pressure and workload should be given.

(Face-to-face interview with a supervisor)

TEE Certificate itself shows the teachers' teaching competence. What more do

you need? (Face-to-face interview with a supervisor)

No more pressure. There is fu lly enough training for the teachers of English in

Korea. (Face-to-face interview with a teacher)

Whi le most ROEs have not been prepared for any further or supplemental training

programs, Daegu and Daejeon ROEs strongly suggest that teachers in the highest level

should take the training program to become trainers of teachers. This is because Daegu

and Daejeon have already provided the training of trainer (TOT) program since 2009 in

the UCC centre in Daegu.

Being aware of the lack of fo llow-up programs to expand the roles of teachers in the

highest level, the question about the further program was made in Busan.

242 Lee, Hyoshin

2) What support do supervisors need to enact the TEE policy more efficiently?

Most supervisors argue that the lack of budget causes them difficulties in the process

of implementing the TEE Certificate policy. They seem to believe that more incentives

are necessary to encourage teachers to participate in the system. They also mentioned

the possibility of standardizing TEE competence evaluation at the national level. The

diversity of TEE competence criteria makes teachers confused and causes a lack of

confidence in working.

3. Teachers' Evaluation of the TEE Certificate System

There are pros and cons regarding the TEE certificate system In Korea. It is

understandable that the new system has given burden and stress to Korean teachers of

English, leading to negative perceptions of the system. The reasons identified from a

group meeting with 7 teachers are as follows:

It gives lots of stress.

It is a kind of public event.

It is unfair in that only English teachers are asked to go through this certificate

process.

It should be modified otherwise it will not last for a long time.

It is just another teacher training program.

It is made just for a show but it's nothing practical for the classroom teaching.

As a result, there is an opinion that the system has failed in encouraging teachers to

participate in the program voluntarily.

There are not many applicants and actually some teachers do not have any

interest in the TEE Certificate.

By contrast, there is an opinion that the system has given positive effects.

It is expected to play a positive role in pushing Korean teachers of English

who have not been interested in their own professional development.

It is a kind of tool to force KETs to develop their teaching ability.

Comments which are useful to improve the system are made by the participants. The

reason for the difference of attitudes between elementary and secondary school teachers

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School... 243

to the system is given.

It may be good for elementary school English teachers who have not got the

specialized license in teaching English but not for secondary school teachers

who have already got the teaching English certificate issued by the

government and now work on it.

Participants suggest the improvement of the system including the assessment

procedure and follow-up programs.

There seems to be a lack of reliability and validity in the TEE Certificate

process.

The government needs to do something after giving TEE-Master certificate.

Teachers who were awarded TM don't know what they should do. TM doesn't

have anything special.

The need for more efforts to make the system known to students, parents and teachers

is also raised.

Students and parents don't know my certificate. Even my colleagues are not

interested in it. They don ' t know it. I don't think it is really useful.

v. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

1. Summary

The findings from the research suggest that there is a gap regarding the aims of the

TEE Certificate system designed by the government among stakeholders, leading to the

different attitudes to it. Those who have positive perception of the system see it as a too l

for encouraging Korean teachers of English to develop their English language teaching

competence while those who have negative attitudes to the system see the negative

aspects such as another type of burden on teachers and even the possibility of a form of

lay-off. The former positive view has led to reinforcing the system by introducing a

stricter point system and encouraging teachers to apply for the certificate to obtain a

higher quality of teaching English competence. On the other hand, the latter negative

view has led some ROEs such as Gangwondo, leollanamdo, and Gwangjusi, to decide

not to implement the system or to implement it in a minimised way. The new strategies

244 Lee, Hyoshin

of how to use the system are required to make it playa proper role in terms of the

provision of an English-friendly learning environment and supporting teachers'

professional development. The summary of findings is described below:

a. It has been found that more emphasis should be placed on teacher training rather

than the operation of the TEE Certificate. This means that the procedure of the TEE

Certificate system should be designed to link it to teacher education programs.

b. The key ROEs ask applicants to meet similar pre-requisite qualifications and to

earn TEE points based on the indicator scales to be eligible to apply for the TEE

Certificate. The contents of TEE Certificate pre-requisite conditions are based on

the two areas: experiences of taking training programs and self-development.

Considering that most of the training programs for the Korean teachers of English

mainly focus on the improvement of linguistic competence rather than teaching

practice component, it is recommended that the current teacher training programs

need to be reorganized in order to meet the new context.

c. Most of the TEE Certificate systems of ROEs have two or three stages in each level.

The main stages are completed by passing TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) and

TPT (Teaching Practice Test). It is found that TKT is replaced by the participation

of teacher training programs in many places. Another interesting point is that a

language course is provided for the teachers who have passed the highest level.

This shows that teachers ' English competence is regarded as the most important

criteria in TEE competence, as shown in the pre-requisite qualifications.

d. ROEs provide incentives to encourage teachers to participate in the system such as

scholarships, opportunities to take overseas training or financial support for self­

study at any private language center. It is viewed that this is because the certificate

system has not been very welcomed by the most Korean teachers of English and

even some supervisors who are in charge of the system. The general negative

attitudes towards the TEE Certificate system are likely to inhibit the supervisors in

developing further programs after TEE Certificate procedure. An issue of the lack

of follow-up programs to expand the roles of teachers in the highest level was

raised. On the other hand, it is worth looking at some ROEs, such as Daejeon and

Daegu, where further training programs for the teachers in the highest level are

prepared to help them become trainers of teachers.

e. Most supervisors argue that the budget deficiencies cause difficulties for them.

They seem to believe that more incentives are necessary to encourage teachers to

participate in the TEE Certificate system. They also mentioned the need of

standardization of TEE competence evaluation at the national level. The diversity

of TEE competence criteria make teachers confused and cause a lack of confidence

Critical Reflection on the TEE Celtificate System for SecondaIY School. 245

in working.

As the TEE Certificate was recently introduced, there has been confusion and

misunderstanding regarding the aims and effects, and these are in the process of

development. As the TEE Certificate system is directly related to the morale and

competence of Korean teachers of English who have made more efforts for professional

development than any other subject teachers in Korea, it is vital to make them

understand the aims of the system and to encourage their voluntary participation in the

process. Based on the findings of the TEE Certificate system, some recommendations

are to be provided.

2. The New Strategies of TEE Certificate System in Korea

Firstly, the TEE Certificate system needs to be developed according to the aims of the

system. This includes the establishment of the proper target for the number of teachers

acquiring the certificates and the proper provision of the teacher development programs.

Although there are demands to standardize the system, it is desirable that the system

needs to be developed to retlect the context of each region. More attention is needed in

adapting teacher training progran1s to the current demands from both teachers and the

general public.

Secondly, the supporting system needs to be developed in order to make the current

system successful. This includes the establishment of the database to identifY the

demand of teacher training, performance evaluation system and website to share

materials and teaching practice video clips.

Thirdly, the current teacher development programs need to be reorganized in that they

were developed to meet the demands of the past in which Korean teachers of English

had low level of competence in both language competence and teaching practice. This

can be conducted by the MEST in terms of teacher development policy.

Lastly, based on the recognition that acquiring TEE Certificate is not the goal on its

own but the means to encourage the professional development of the Korean teachers of

English and to provide evidence for planning teacher development programs, tailor­

made teacher training programs need to be provided to the teachers with TEE Certificate.

Special attention needs to be paid to the teachers with TEE-M, which is the advanced

level certificate. They are expected to play roles as teacher mentors, trainers of teachers

and TEE-Ace examiners. However, although they acquire TEE-M, it is difficult to

acknowledge that they have competence to play the required roles, which means that

additional training needs to be provided for them .

246 Lee, Hyoshin

3. The Provision of the New Supporting Systems Meeting the New Strategies of TEE Certificate System in Korea

Firstly, further programs for teachers who obtained the highest level in the TEE

Certificate system are needed. This can be understood in conjunction with the current

context of English education in Korea. The government has been preparing for

introducing the new national English abi lity test (NEAT) including four language skills

for secondary school students. This has caused a big change in the implementation of the

national curriculum of English . Under the circumstances, more peer trainers who can

share the teaching context with teachers will be required.

Secondly, considering the current English classrooms, in which a small er number of

speaking and writing lessons have been provided, more attention must be paid to

speaking and writing lessons in order to prepare for the change of the National

Curriculum and the new National English test.

Lastly, a variety of institutes will be expected to play a liaison role for overseas

school-based teacher training in English speaking countries. This is based on the TEE

Certificate context in which the change of teacher education systems with more

emphasis on the school-based teacher training has been expected. The change in English

language teacher education from off-site teacher training and overseas training to on-site

(school-based) teacher training is strongly needed.

4. Contributions and Limitations of the Study and Further Studies

This research is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on the TEE

Certificate system. Due to the short history of the system, little attention has been paid to

this topic. By analyzing the documents produced by the MEST and ROEs and making

interviews with key stakeholders, the researcher has identified a variety of issues and

developed the structure of TEE Certificate system. This could contribute to attracting

further studies on the topic.

The present study has some limitations. First of all, as it employs qualitative methods

including document analysis and interviews, it has provided lin1ited infom1ation of the

general overview of the TEE system according to regions, gender or ages. The

researcher makes efforts to complement the limitation by providing the results of the

previous research. As little research has been conducted regarding the topic, however,

further research employing the quantitative method is needed to understand the current

overview of the TEE Certificate system. Secondly, the current study addresses the

beginning period of the implementation of the system during 2009-2010, further study

dealing with the change in the system including the suggestions of the current study is

Critical Reflection on the TEE Certificate System for Secondary School ... 247

needed. Finally, although this study has placed an emphasis on the link of the TEE

system to professional development, it has not addressed the effects of the TEE system.

Therefore, it is desirable for further research to examine the effects of the system on the

change in professional development of Korean teachers of English.

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APPENDIX Interview questions (for supervisors)

1. What do you think the main aims of TEE Certificate are?

2. What is the procedure of the TEE Certificate system and how many teachers apply

for it?

3. Do you have any supporting systems to encourage teachers to apply for it or help

them to get the certificate?

4. Are you planning to achieve the certain number of TEE Certificate recipients?

Criti cal Reflection on the TEE Certifi cate System for Secondary School ...

5. Do you have the TEE Certificate system in relation to teacher education policy?

6. What do you expect from the implementation of TEE Certificate policy in your

ROE?

7. What kinds of inhibitors are there in the process of implementing the system?

249

*** Added question after visiting Gangwondo: T heard one or two ROEs decided not to

implement the TEE Certificate system. What do you think of it?

Interview questions (for teachers and examiners)

I. What do you think the main aims of TEE Certificate are? What do you think other

teachers view it?

2. What is the procedure of the TEE Certificate system? How many teachers in your

school or among other teachers apply for it?

3. Do you see the TEE Certificate system as a way of developing teacher

professionalism?

4. What did you expect when you got TEE Certificate? What do you expect now?

5. Do you think the current TEE Certificate system give impact on teachers? If so, in

what ways?

6. Did you get any supports from your ROE when you applied or got the course and

tests?

7. Can you think of any supporting systems for this system?

App li cable leve l: Teacher education

Key words: T EE CeJ1ificate, professional development

Hyoshin Lee

Dept. o f English Language and Literature

Konkuk University Glocal campus

268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si

Chungcheongbuk-do, 380-70 1, Korea

Email address: hslee20 12@ kku.ac. k:r

Rece ived in June, 20 12

Reviewed in Jul y, 201 2

Revised version received in August, 201 2