정부, 원활한 원격수업위해 다문화 가정 지원나서...<br /><br />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.<br />Choi Won-jong visited one such family to hear their story.<br />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.<br />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.<br />"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."<br />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.<br />"I want to meet new friends, and I am also excited to learn a lot of things."<br />However, the language barrier remains an issue even as schools switch to online lessons.<br />"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."<br />To overcome these issues, education offices provide support to multicultural students... who need help understanding school materials.<br />The Gyeonggi-do Province education office provides bilingual language instructors who can visit students at home and help with online platforms.<br />In Daegu, school materials are being offered in 6 languages, including Russian and Vietnamese... and translated text messages are sent to parents.<br />Local Multicultural Family Support Centers also offer additional translations of any changes to the education system.<br />The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family provides a 24/7 helpline in 13 languages to support multicultural families. Choi Won-jong, Arirang News.<br />
