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crashlanding
Joined: 29 Aug 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:56 am Post subject: Well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreigners |
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"Antagonism between well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreigners" is one of the "Results of importing young native speakers in China, Japan, Korea" that will be highlighted by an internationally recognized British scholar who has been paid to give a conference talk in Seoul later this year.
I've thankfully left South Korea and will never go back, but an email jumped into my inbox about Robert Phillipson, who has written books about "language imperialism" and who has been invited to speak about English language teaching. Phillipson is a professor at the Copenhagen School of Business and he has worked for decades fighting the tide of native speaker teachers and promoting instead local, non-native speakers teaching English because of their superior confidence.
Phillipson was kind enough to email me the Powerpoint for his presentation. The quotes above are from slide 36. Here are other quotes from that slide:
"Proof of the incompetence of local decision-makers who are responsible for such policies"
"Proof of the opportunism, economic and political of organizations in the UK, Australia, USA, Canada supplying models of an Anglo-American way of life rather than appropriately qualified teachers."
Again, as I've said I've left South Korea (and I wasn't really an EFL teacher per se, so this isn't really an issue for me), but my heart really does go out to all of you guys who are struggling in that filthy, angry place. I wanted all of you to know what's going on.
I'm not well versed in Korea politics, but I've been told Phillipson is being used as a pawn by certain political groups to give international credence to the growing anti-English movement in the upper echelons of Korean society, and his presentation will probably be used to cut budgets to hire native speakers in public schools and encourage Korean universities to abandon English-language instruction.
I imagine the lower middle class of South Korea will suffer the most from this. For them, linguistic talent and the drive to learn English are collectively one of the few socioeconomic equalizers in a deeply unfair and hierarchical society.
I have a copy of his speech and Powerpoint presentation if anyone's interested. Just PM me. |
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Zackback
Joined: 05 Nov 2010 Location: Kyungbuk
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:23 pm Post subject: Re: Well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreig |
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I have met plenty of Korean teachers with "superior confidence" but their English pronunciation was far from superior. |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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It's been a long time coming.
There's arguments to be made for both sides in this issue.
No point in re-hashing it all again. |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Location: Korea
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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Korean moms will decide, but not another whitey who's from an English speaking country. |
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Malislamusrex
Joined: 01 Feb 2010
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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Phillipson just hates capitalism and wants to live in his perceived perfect socialist society. His agenda is more anti West than anything to do with teaching. If he likes communism so much he should go to North Korea. |
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Seoulman69
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Phillipson is a professor at the Copenhagen School of Business and he has worked for decades fighting the tide of native speaker teachers and promoting instead local, non-native speakers teaching English because of their superior confidence. |
He's just another hippy-dippy liberal bedwetter. The problem is that Koreans will listen to him because he is saying what they want to hear. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
"Antagonism between well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreigners" is one of the "Results of importing young native speakers in China, Japan, Korea" that will be highlighted by an internationally recognized British scholar who has been paid to give a conference talk in Seoul later this year |
The guy is against English Linguistic Imperialism so presumably his talk will be in Korean or maybe even Esperanto |
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nero
Joined: 11 Mar 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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Seoulman69 wrote: |
Quote: |
Phillipson is a professor at the Copenhagen School of Business and he has worked for decades fighting the tide of native speaker teachers and promoting instead local, non-native speakers teaching English because of their superior confidence. |
He's just another hippy-dippy liberal bedwetter. The problem is that Koreans will listen to him because he is saying what they want to hear. |
Exactly. |
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crashlanding
Joined: 29 Aug 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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edwardcatflap wrote: |
Quote: |
"Antagonism between well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreigners" is one of the "Results of importing young native speakers in China, Japan, Korea" that will be highlighted by an internationally recognized British scholar who has been paid to give a conference talk in Seoul later this year |
The guy is against English Linguistic Imperialism so presumably his talk will be in Korean or maybe even Esperanto |
My--I hadn't even thought of that. A brilliant point. Perhaps you would like to email him? [email protected] |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Location: Seoul, South Korea
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:46 pm Post subject: Re: Well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreig |
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crashlanding wrote: |
Again, as I've said I've left South Korea (and I wasn't really an EFL teacher per se, so this isn't really an issue for me), but my heart really does go out to all of you guys who are struggling in that filthy, angry place. |
Spare us your "compassion". |
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Seoulman69
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
My--I hadn't even thought of that. A brilliant point. Perhaps you would like to email him? [email protected] |
His theory has already been debunked. He is a guilt riddled, liberal, half-wit who seems to think non-English speakers are too weak to stand up for themselves. His theory is patronizing to English learners and ESL teachers and remains unproven. Korea had done very well from opening up to foreign influences but there are still extremists who see anything foreign as a threat. Phillipson is a one-trick pony who these idiots wheel out to further their xenophobic agenda. He wrote his book in 92 yet 20 years later he is still singing the same, out of tune, redundant song.
His research history speaks volumes about his abilities. All he does is regurgitate his cultural imperialism theory as if refining it will suddenly make it true. Compare his work to Dornyei, the motivation master. Dornyei's research and publications have gone far beyond motivation into many different aspects of linguistics, whereas Phillipson keeps trying to flog his dead horse to increasingly extremist and xenophobic admirers.
Here's another question - your attacks on the British Council read like the rants of a bitter ex-employee. Are the claims you used to work for the British Council true? |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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edwardcatflap wrote: |
The guy is against English Linguistic Imperialism so presumably his talk will be in Korean or maybe even Esperanto |
Mi parolas Esperanton! |
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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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Why the assumption that all foreign teachers have limited qualifications and that all Korean teachers are overqualified? Was this assumption based on the lax requirements for an E2 visa of a decade ago? It certainly isn't true today. Can someone, possibly his friend who is posting on this thread, please Email him and let him know that the requiremnets have changed for an E2 visa? |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010 Location: Victoria, Canada.
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:51 am Post subject: Re: Well qualified local teachers and under-qualified foreig |
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transmogrifier wrote: |
crashlanding wrote: |
Again, as I've said I've left South Korea (and I wasn't really an EFL teacher per se, so this isn't really an issue for me), but my heart really does go out to all of you guys who are struggling in that filthy, angry place. |
Spare us your "compassion". |
Why?
That's what my family thinks of this place. |
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Unibrow
Joined: 20 Aug 2012
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:01 am Post subject: |
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The spread of English has been a product of Anglo American imperialism, it's hard to dispute that. |
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