실용영어 중심 영어교육 정책과 개정 교육과정

Communication-oriented English education policy and curriculum reform

Over the last three years, the government proposed comprehensive English language education policies that purport to enhance students' communication competence through bringing about change in English education at schools. It covers policies on curriculum change, teacher education, national English ability test (NEAT), infrastructure building and dissemination. This paper provides the overview of the communication-focused English education policy with reference to 2009 curriculum revision. The keys of the revised English curriculum are accountability, teacher development, educational leadership, student-centeredness, self-directed learning, performance-assessment and individualized instruction. Some suggestions are proposed for effective change in English language learning and teaching at schools from perspectives on curriculum change and teacher professional development. As a viable approach to change, it is suggested that school-based teacher development should be supported to bring about change in the classroom, where teacher voice is heard in curriculum reform and policy making in the long-term.