English for Alternative School Students

Abstract

Recently, there has been growing number of alternative schools for middle and high school students in Korea. Alternative schools are institutions which provide non-traditional educational programs. These alternative education programs employ diverse theories and practices which can be viewed as special education for various types of students (Nagata, 2006). The function and the goal of the alternative schools can be classified into three different types: remedial education for problematic students, special education for gifted children, and individualized education for the parents and students who have different philosophical views on traditional education. My textbook is designed to teach the alternative school students, especially the third group as mentioned above. The target students receive exposure to diverse topics in the alternative school such as Pansori (Korean traditional song), short bamboo flute, the traditional Korean mask dance, philosophy, discussion, history, not to mention Korean, mathematics and English. They have opportunities to go abroad approximately once a year to experience the different cultural aspects of select countries, and interestingly, they are also required to publicize Korean culture while traveling. The group of students I seek to address is 17 or 18 year-olds who are studying in their first year in an alternative high school. This is an EFL educational environment and they have been studying English for more than six years. The current level of their English proficiency (based on the ACTFL scale) is intermediate mid to intermediate high for their listening and reading skills, and intermediate low to intermediate mid for their speaking and writing skills. I have chosen this target group of students because I tutor several students who go to alternative schools and found there is a need for a pedagogical textbook with international cultural content for these students. The school I am affiliated with believes that travel around the world can help students to broaden their personal perspectives of the world. Since the students should be aware of the different countries they could possibly visit during their formative years in the alternative institution, my textbook is designed to meet this need. Students will learn about various cultures which they might encounter in their future travels and at the same time they will develop English language skills by studying with my textbook. It is aimed to teach general English and all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through learning about different regions and cultures.