Coexistence or Competition: A Look at Private Tutoring in English in Relation to Formal Instruction in English in Korean Schools

This study investigated how private tutoring in English relates to formal instruction in English in schools in Korea. A total of 60 elementary and secondary school students, their parents, and school teachers participated in the study by reporting, through semi-structured interviews, their perceptions and attitudes toward private tutoring in English in relation to formal instruction in English in schools. The findings showed that the relationships between private tutoring in English and formal instruction in English in schools were perceived from three perspectives. First, private tutoring in English was perceived by all participant groups as performing the functions that formal instruction in English in schools failed to perform. Second, the strong parental support of private tutoring in English was viewed by teachers and students as potentially negatively affecting formal instruction in English in schools and students’ English learning. Third, private tutoring in English was deemed by teachers at both elementary and secondary schools as having the possibility of disadvantaging the students financially unable to participate in private tutoring in English. Based on the findings, a number of implications are suggested.