Today and Tomorrow of Online Teacher Training for Korean In-Service Teachers of English

Abstract

This study aims at examining the existing online teacher training programs designed for Korean EFL teachers. With the ever-developing technology and its wide application in teacher training programs, the online teacher training opportunities are believed to draw more and more teachers. The study was conducted with the following objectives: 1) to investigate the reality of the existing Web-based teacher training programs designed for Korean EFL teachers; 2) to examine their attitudes toward the online teacher training programs; and 3) to suggest a necessity of responding to a newer and ever-changing teachers' training needs and situations. Based on the review of the government-published annual report and other documents together with the responses from Korean EFL teachers who have taken online teacher training courses, the researcher concluded: 1) the existing online training courses are lacking professional development opportunities, insufficien in meeting teachers’ practical needs; 2) a vast majority of the online teacher training courses show a strong bias in favor of general language skills, not genuinely practical and applicable to classroom teaching; and 3) the teacher respondents are not fully pleased with the existing online teacher training courses. The study suggests the ways to change online teacher training programs into more practical, authentic, and meaningful courses.