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The Jeju Provincial Office of Education has announced plans to strengthen customized multicultural education for students with immigrant backgrounds by establishing Korean language classes in two schools within the province that have a high number of foreign students.
To achieve this, starting this year, the Office of Education will introduce two Korean language classes at Ara Elementary School in Jeju City, which has a significant number of children of graduate students from Jeju National University's College of Engineering from countries like India and Pakistan, and at Jeju North Elementary School, where a multicultural family community and the Catholic Naomi Center are established. These classes will utilize the Korean language education curriculum (KSL) to provide systematic Korean language education.
Additionally, for students who have recently arrived in the country or are foreign students, before and after their school registration, a 'Korean Language Preparatory Class' will be operated at the Shin Jeju Foreign Culture Learning Center under the supervision of the Jeju Multicultural Education Center. For schools with fewer than five mid-entry or foreign students, a 'Visiting Korean Language Education' program will be implemented.
Programs are also being prepared to support the adaptation and growth of multicultural families. Following last year, the 'Multicultural Family Korean Language and Arts Classroom and Empathy Project' will continue to be run this year to foster pride through emotional exchanges among members of multicultural families. A Multicultural Course Integrated Support Team will be formed to support students with immigrant backgrounds and their guardians, and about 21 families will receive support for 'Multicultural Family Parent Home Country Visits' through multicultural family camps.
In conjunction with the Jeju Senior Club, efforts to support customized education and emotional well-being through the mentorship roles of multicultural family parents are being advanced through the 'Home Teacher' project. Additionally, a translation service project for multicultural family newsletters is also being pursued.
The number of multicultural students in elementary, middle, and high schools within Jeju Province has been continuously increasing, from 446 in 2012 to 3,128 in April last year. The proportion of multicultural students among the total student population stands at 4%, slightly above the national average of 3.5%.
Jeju Weekly editor@jejuweekly.net
