For Immediate Release
November 25, 2008

English teachers from Incheon, South Korea learn and practice new teaching techniques in American classrooms

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – For the first time, 36 teachers from Incheon, South Korea spent one month at International Education Programs (IEP) refining their English teaching skills and practicing their new knowledge in American classrooms.

This is the first group of English teachers from Incheon to attend IEP at UCR Extension since Incheon declared itself an "English City" and inaugurated the "Incheon Free English Zone" in February of 2007.

The Incheon TESOL program was a collaborative effort between the Incheon government, IEP, Extension's Department of Education and the Moreno Valley and Redlands Unified School Districts, said Tarana Patel, academic director for IEP.

"Learning English is a way to a better life in my country," said Jung Youngtae, a Korean English teacher who teaches high school girls back home. "It earns you more status and more opportunity."

The Korean teachers spent their first three weeks learning new strategies and methods to teach oral, reading and writing skills. During their last week, the Korean teachers were paired with American teachers at high schools and middle schools in Redlands and Moreno Valley, where they practiced their new skills with American students.

"The practicum went really well," Patel said. "The Korean teachers had opportunities to teach. Everyone was extremely happy. The American teachers showed a lot of interest in doing future collaborations like these."

The next group of teachers from Incheon is expected in May of 2009, Patel said.

For information about International Education Programs, please call (951) 827-4346 or e-mail ucriep@ucx.ucr.edu.

To register for other classes at UCR Extension, visit www.extension.ucr.edu or call (951) 827-4105. To receive a free UCR Extension catalog, which includes a complete listing of all our current courses and certificate programs, call (951) 827-3806.

UCR Extension is the continuing education division of the University of California, Riverside. Extension offers more than 1,800 courses and certificate programs in a variety of academic programs, including agriculture and landscape, arts and humanities, business and management, education, teacher's credentialing, English, environmental management, geospatial analysis and technology, health services and behavioral sciences, information technology, languages, law and public policy, Native American studies, natural sciences, forensic investigations and public safety, and yoga.