The national curriculum for English in Korea emphasizes the development of communicative competence through the use of task-based learning and communicative activities that suit the student’s needs and levels, as well as the integration of the four skills. This not only requires sophisticated teaching skills, but also a high degree of proficiency in English. The English Teacher Selection Test, which is meant to select quality English teachers, has never been free from being criticized for its lack of validity, consistency, and proper feedback. This study thus analyzes the English Teacher Selection Test items from 2004 to 2006 in terms of percentages of different fields of major and suggests some ideas to make the Test more efficient in serving its purpose, which is selecting quality English teachers.

This study explores solutions for the problems of the current secondary English teacher selection test in Korea. The study was performed in the form of survey including a total of 557 participants, among whom were professors teaching at the departments of English education, students majoring English education, English teachers who had taken the selection test, test-takers of the test, and public officials in charge of English education in the offices of education. The questionnaire consisted of 29 questions which were designed to elicit the participants' perception or belief about the test itself, the relationships between the test and the curricula of the department, the test-making process, and the first stage of the selectional process. Analyzing the results of the survey, the present study proposes possible solutions for the problems regarding the question types of the test, the proportions of each field of the major, the curricula of the department of English in the college of education, and the test-developing and grading process.