2009 개정 영어교육과정의 평가: (다)문화, 창의성 그리고 인성의 교육 측면에서

Abstract

This article critically examines the 2009 Amendment of the School Curriculum of the Republic of Korea for English education. More specifically, it focuses on whether the general goals for primary and secondary school education stated in its general guidelines are faithfully reflected on the specific statements of the goals, achievement standards, and methods of instruction and evaluation for English education at the same levels. The degree of faithful linkage is evaluated particularly with regard to life skills and competencies of (i) (multi-)cultural understanding and competency, (ii) creative thinking skills and (iii) social skills and ethical attitudes. To achieve this goal of study, the author has checked whether key words of these three skill areas are used in the seventeen sub-curricula for English subjects, and found out that except for advanced selective courses such life skills are emphasized explicitly only in stating the methods of instruction, but that they are generally stated in their statements of goals, achievement standards, and methods of evaluation only at best in an implicit way. This article interprets this as meaning that the 2009 Amendment generally leaves the most highly emphasized task of life skills education at the mercy of classroom teachers, and suggests that in a more efficient and coherent curriculum such life skills be specified as achievement standards and mandated to be evaluated as well.