On December 27, 2017, the Ministry of Education in Korea published a policy intended to ban English education in public kindergartens and day-care centers. The policy instantly sparked a strong backlash from the public, who voiced concerns and opposition to it in online news comments. This study analyzed 5,815 online news comments to identify public perception of the ban in particular and early childhood English education in general. The findings revealed that the number of opponents of the ban was much larger than that of supporters (85.1% vs. 14.9%). The opponents disapproved the ban for the following reasons. First, the ban would make parents turn to private education and eventually end up widening the gap between those who can afford it and those who cannot. Second, the ban clearly infringes on the basic right to get an education. Third, English is being taught through play-based curriculum, which causes little stress and emotional burdens for children despite the concerns of the government. On the other hand, the supporters underscored the role of parents and the importance of children's native tongue to back up their arguments for the ban. Overall, this study may provide insights about how to utilize online news comments to study public perception of English education.

본 연구는 유아영어교육에 대한 교사와 학부모의 인식을 조사하여 추후 유아영어교육이 나아갈 방향에 도움이 되는 기초자료로 제공하는데 목적이 있다. 이를 위해 K시에 근무하는 유아교육기관의 교사 250명, 학부모 250명을 대상으로 설문 조사하였으며, 수집된 자료는 SPSS 23.0 프로그램을 사용하였으며, 빈도분석, 기술통계분석, 독립표본 t검증, 카이제곱검증(x2)을 실시하였다. 연구결과, 첫째, 교사와 학부모 모두 유아영어교육이 필요하다고 인식하고 있었고 학부모의 인식이 교사의 인식보다 더욱 높게 나타났다. 둘째, 유아영어교육의 목표로 교사와 학부모 모두 영어에 대한 친밀감 갖기가 가장 높게 나타났다. 셋째, 유아영어교육의 적합한 교육방법으로 교사와 학부모는 만3~5세의 유아들에게 유아교육기관에서 주 2~3회 20분 이내 모든 유아들에게 일시적으로 실시하는 것이 가장 적합하다고 인식하고 있었다. 또한 유아영어교육의 적합한 교수법으로는 데일리루틴 교수법이 가장 높게 나타났다. 넷째, 유아영어교육의 문제점에 대한 인식은 교사와 학부모 유아의 실제 영어 활용기회 부족에 대한 인식이 가장 높았으며, 유아영어교육의 효과에 대해서는 영어에 대한 유아의 흥미와 동기유발이 증진된다는 것에 가장 높게 인식하고 있는 것으로 나타났다.

This study explores views of mothers whose child attends a private kindergarten regarding the way their children learn English in kindergarten. We recruited eight participants in City A. We collected data through semi-structured interviews, and suggestions based on our findings are as follows. First, the level of difficulty for the English education programs in normal kindergartens are based on the parents' needs rather than the practical level for the children of early childhood. Also the English classes in Kindergartens that are allegedly specialized with English Education focus on memorizing more than the child can bear, which is not appropriate for the development of children in their early childhood. Second, without a proper goal in English education, a manual for appropriate English education for early childhood was in need. Third, while in a dilemmatic situation in choosing a proper early childhood education establishment, mothers’ would choose a normal kindergarten, focusing on whole-rounded education, and Kindergartens that are allegedly specialized with English Education for the English education. And for further level of education, they preferred the Natural approach and Phonics approach, which were appropriate for their level of difficulty. This research implies that dialogues among stakeholders and studies on teaching strategies relevant for young children should take place for more meaningful and appropriate English education in early childhood programs.