Pukyong National University

A Certified Training Program for English teachers will start in Busan for the first time.
- The process of ICELT will be run jointly by PKNU, the British Council, and the Busan International Foreign School.
- The opening ceremony was held in Dongwon Jang Bogo Hall in Daeyeon campus on Friday July 29th at 9 am.

△ This is a commemorative photo to celebrate the opening ceremony of the Certified Training Program for elementary school English teachers. (from the lower left, Ji Sam Eop, the Director of the Academy of Continuing Education, Park Maeng Eon, the President of PKNU, and Im Hye Kyung, the Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education) ⓒ Lee Sung Jae (member of the office of public relations)

The opening ceremony of the Certified Training Program for elementary school English teachers was held in the Dongwon Jang Bogo Hall in Daeyeon campus on Friday July 29th at 9am. Ji Sam Eop, the Director of the Academy of Continuing Education in PKNU, Park Maeng Eon, the President of PKNU, and Im Hye Kyung, the Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education took part in this ceremony.

PKNU started the Certified Training Program in Busan. The program will be jointly run by the British Council and it will introduce CELTA and ICELT for the first time. This program is intended for about 80 elementary school English teachers who belong to around 70 elementary schools which are located in Busan.

Approximately 10 000 English teachers in the world are completing CELTA and ICELT every year. These are both recognized programs for elementary school English teachers which are run by the British Council. After completing these courses, they can be an English teacher anywhere in the world.

The elementary school English teachers who are participating in this training program will learn the process to reinforce linguistic ability as a first step for 2 weeks. PKNU and the native-speaking instructors who belong to the British Council are in charge of this training program. After the first step, they should then complete a course on the preparation of ICELT. Finally, they can take ICELT or visit a class in the Busan International Foreign School for one semester.

The President of PKNU, Park Maeng Eon, stated, “It is possible for the elementary school English teachers to complete the world-class training program. By participating in this training program in Busan, they do not have to study abroad. Therefore, they can save their time and money.”

In addition, Im Hye Kyung, the Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education stated, “I am really happy to provide this useful program for many elementary school English teachers in Busan. It will be an opportunity to improve the quality of the English education in the local area.”

This year, the Academy of Continuing Education in PKNU was selected as the institute in charge of this training program and they are striving to develop many helpful programs by cooperating with the Busan International Foreign School and the British Council. <Pukyong Today>

<translator; Park Ha Won, dhzl0121@naver.com>