The government-sponsored English language schools during the U.S. military rule of Korea 1945-1948 and their effects on English language education in Korea

Abstract

This paper examines the roles that the government-sponsored English language schools played during American military rule from 1945 to 1948 and their effects on the development of English language education in Korea. In order to achieve the research goal, the paper reviewed and analyzed documents and data on the history of Korea, Korean education, and English education in Korea, particularly during the periods of Japanese colonial rule and American military occupation. Korea had been under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, where Japanese was the language of primacy and thus the status of English, along with other languages, significantly weakened. Particularly in the last decade of Japanese rule, as Japan engaged in a war against the United States and its allies, the colonial government declared English as an enemy language and intensified its suppression of Anglophone elements. Japan's sudden surrender in August 1945, however, brought WWII to a close, and in September U.S. forces arrived in Korea. The U.S. Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) ruled over the southern half of Korea for three years, while Soviet Union troops occupied the northern part. In the South, the English language regained wide popularity, and English language education came to be in great demand. The government introduced a range of English-related policies and actions that strengthened the status of English. One such action was to establish government-sponsored English language schools: the American Language Institute (ALI) and the Military Language School (MLS). The ALI was originally open to train prospective and current government employees, but later extended its responsibilities to the training of secondary- and tertiary-level English teachers and of other private citizens. The Institute focused on nationwide teacher training in particular. Despite its extensive training for multiple groups of Koreans, the ALI was closed upon the cessation of the American military government in 1948. Meanwhile, the MLS was an English language school for potential officers. Its apparent purpose was to provide English and military training to Koreans with some military experience so that they could assist American commanders. The school trained the Korean Constabulary's first generation of officers and produced 110 officers who later played crucial roles in the foundation of the Republic of Korea. The MLS was an expedient English language school that lasted only five months; thus, its contribution to English language education is negligible. In brief, the two government-sponsored English language schools did not survive long enough to leave lasting impacts on English education in Korea. Instead, Korean English professors and teachers who had been educated in Japan or in Japanese-founded schools continued to dominate and lead the field of English language education. This is why Japanese influence on English education has been persistent until recently.