정부, 원활한 원격수업위해 다문화 가정 지원나서...
With elementary schools in South Korea shifting along with middle and high schools to online classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak,.. some multicultural families in the country have been struggling to get their heads round this post-virus method of remote learning.
Choi Won-jong visited one such family to hear their story.
Sophie Song moved to South Korea from Australia 3-and-a-half-years ago but has been struggling with her daughter's first year of elementary school.
Her biggest concerns are the language barrier and her lack of experience with the Korean education system....but is doing what she can to help her daughter take online classes.
"I have no sense of the school environment here to give her an expectation about it. I feel like I'm really reading a recipe book in another language with no pictures and trying to describe her what the cake is going to look like."
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the South Korean government closed schools nationwide. Sophie's daughter, Alice, is among the last group of students to start online classes.
"I want to meet new friends, and I am also excited to learn a lot of things."
However, the language barrier remains an issue even as schools switch to online lessons.
"Some sort of reassurance what we can do to help our kids in a long term. I worried about this sort of gaps and I worry that I am going to be able to keep it up."
To overcome these issues, education offices provide support to multicultural students... who need help understanding school materials.
The Gyeonggi-do Province education office provides bilingual language instructors who can visit students at home and help with online platforms.
In Daegu, school materials are being offered in 6 languages, including Russian and Vietnamese... and translated text messages are sent to parents.
Local Multicultural Family Support Centers also offer additional translations of any changes to the education system.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family provides a 24/7 helpline in 13 languages to support multicultural families. Choi Won-jong, Arirang News.