The Department of Korean Studies of Ewha GSIS Published a Complete Series of Korean Reading Textbook for Thai Learners
- Date2022.12.21
- 5189
Korean language education specialists from the Department of Korean Studies of Ewha Graduate School of International Studies Published a Complete Series of Korean Reading Textbook for Thai Learners
The complete series of Korean-language reading textbooks (30-Voulme Set) for Thai learners directed by Professor Park Sun-hee of the Department of Korean Studies of Ewha Graduate School of International Studies were published on November 18 (Fri). This project, hosted by the Korean Education Center in Thailand (Director: Kim Dong-wook), is designed to allow Thai learners to learn various subjects regarding Korea through reading text and learn not only Korean but also overall knowledge about Korea through intercultural learning activities.
This series consists of five subjects: nature, economy, society, culture, life, and history and is written in a total of 25 volumes, five volumes per subject. In addition to the main reading book, there is one additional reference book for teachers for each subjects to support Korean language teachers in the Thai education field to easily operate classes. Also, these books are made as reactive e-book, not a paper book or previous PDF-type e-book, so that students can interact in various ways using the textbook.
Thailand is a country with 46,000 Korean learners in elementary and secondary schools, accounting for 30% of about 160,000 Korean learners worldwide. In addition, in 2018, Korean was adopted as a subject for the university entrance examination in Thailand, with 47,000 learners studying Korean annually at 176 secondary schools. As 20% of the Thai students are choosing Korean as their second language, the number of applicants for Korean language courses in Thai universities is increasing every year. As such, the number of Korean learners in Thai secondary schools is increasing, but it was difficult to support learners for college exams and meet various needs of learners with previous beginner-level textbooks. In some educational sites, general purpose textbooks for adult learners published by Korean universities were used as alternative materials, but they were not suitable for local teaching and learning situations. As Ewha published the complete series of Korean reading texbooks, intermediate-level learners in Thailand will be able to receive higher-quality education, and at the same time, teachers will be able to receive support for effective Korean language class operation.
In the development of Korean reading textbooks for Thai learners, a large number of Korean language education professionals from the the Department of Korean Studies of Ewha Graduate School of International Studies were put into the team, led by Professor Park Sun-hee. Korean language education specialists including Professor Lee Hae-young of the Department of Korean Studies and Professor Lee Jung-ran of the Institute of Korean Studies were in charge of supervising Korean language education, and Professor Kim Se-wan of the Department of Economics, Choi Yong-sang of Climate and Energy Systems Engineering, and Professor Roh Sangho of Global Korean Studies participated in the selection and inspection of textbooks.
Professor Park Sun-hee mentioned, "The publication of the Korean Reading Series for Thai learners will allow Korean teachers and students in Thailand to use more diverse materials and high-quality content. We hope that Thai students will be able to read Hangul under the theme of Korean nature, economy, society, culture, life, and history in local classes and develop their interest and understanding of Korea to become a leading Korean studies expert and bridge between Korea and Thailand." The published e-book is available at http://kor.onion.co.kr.