Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Even foreigners who have been here for years seem to have trouble speaking in Korean. Some foreigners take courses, and others don't, but Korean is definetely not a language you will pick up by osmosis, unless you are a foreign pre-pubertal child mixing it up with Korean kids, who are (compared with adults) - very talkative!

Yes, the word order in Korean is different to English and many other languages with the verb coming at the end. But Korean should not be that hard to speak with some effort.

In my case, I learnt decent level Turkish in Turkey during my year teaching there, and the word order is similar to Korean. But Turks are way more social and friendly compared with Koreans - like night and day.
Korean elementary school kids are still pretty friendly - but do not expect to be invited to their homes for dinner, as you would be in some countries who delight in meeting their 'foreign teacher.'

I think one of the reasons might be because foreigners spend so little time socializing with Koreans, not because they (foreigners) don't want to socialize with Koreans, but rather, because Koreans don't really want to socialize with foreigners.

Koreans only socialize with us when we are in those 'scripted' and 'planned' situations like going for a school function/dinner, etc.....but those are situations which are culturally forced.

Don't get me wrong - Koreans are polite, decent people. But don't expect to become their friends (except in rare cases).

Koreans will initially fool you, because they seem so friendly and warm, but underneath that polite exterior lie a people who have basically little or no interest in really getting to know foreigners.

Most Korean adults don't know what to talk about when they are in the presence of foreigners - like they don't know how to approach us. They feel little or no common bond. We are really 'waygukin' - even though they are polite to us.

This makes living in Korea a rather isolating and depressing experience for many teachers. And it is not always easy to mix with fellow 'teachers' because Korea seems to attract so many disfunctional individuals (foreign teachers) who come to Korea. They will take 'anyone' with a pulse in Korea - and so the quality of the teachers tends to be low. They have to fill those positions in the 'hogwans' - it's all about money.....

Forgive the digression, but the point I wish to make is that if an environment is not stimulating and friendly, then learning the new foreign language will also be hard to achieve.

In summation - many EFL teachers, I think, simply feel that coming to Korea for 1-2 years - it would not be worth making the effort to learn the language.

I am here for 1-2 years max., and study the language for at least 60 minutes per day (listening to CD's and reading Hangeul exercise books) and also attend the Korean Language school on Saturdays (Korean Language Academy). Despite this, my progress is not where I would like it to be.

Thoughts, ideas?

Ghost in Korea

[CheeseSandwich]

maybe becuase most of us after working all day dont have the gumption to sit in a classroom 2-3 times a week or study on our own.

I make a good effort and i'm progressing but after 8 hours of putting on you teacher face and maintaining that energy, coming home to sit and study doesn't sound too enticing. I'd rather enjoy a beer, read or play video games to relax and then hit the hay.

I think you almost need to have a long term Korean girlfreind/Boyfreind. I haven't met any westerner fluent in Korean that didn't learn becuase they dated a korean for a few years.

[PeteJB]

I think it really depends on how you act with them. And pushing your ass harder helps too, sometimes people are just too lazy to learn the language (yes, you really have to put time in everyday, and create a study routine for yourself) - Also you can try the Internet, if your really that desperate for Korean interaction which is all so important in improving your language skills. One of the problems with learning Korean, at least, for me, is learning how to think in Korean. You have to learn how to "thick" and "act" like they do in some regards. Eventually, you'll come to like it - Unless you have no interest at all, then really.. go somewhere else. As for the internet, you can easily find friends in your local area of Seoul that way (usually female, but sometimes male...)

[The Hierophant]

[Atavistic]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=92748&highlight=

[own_king]

I think a lot of people get frustrated - myself included. I've given up on it because even when I know the right word, Korean people can't or won't understand. Korean people have no experience hearing foreigners speaking Korean. They can only understand perfect Korean spoken by a native speaker. It points again to their intolerance, whereas in Canada, if someone speaks to me in terrible, very broken English, I will try to understand what they are saying, but Koreans just won't. For example, I was in a restaurant and asked for moolr (water) and I got a blank stare. I tried again and again (holding a cup) and nothing. I said water and the waitress immediately said "OK". So there is one word, I didn't need to learn. So it's pointless.

[Carlyles Ghost]

My first tour in Korea, I learned nothing of the language; just hello goodbye etc. Didn't even learn the different numbering systems.
This time around, I am (trying to be) disciplined about learning a certain amount each week. Thinking of my German language professor, I have adopted the Repetition Approach; I learn a basic construction by repeating it until I can say flawlessly, and then I change the subject/verb/context/time/tense etc; I try to play with it a little. I am actually pretty pleased with the amount I have learned. The hardest part is the discipline.

[SPINOZA]

내일부터 25일까지 제가 영국으로 가겠습니다.

[VirginIslander]

[laogaiguk]

[Fresh Prince]

When I was practicing my Japanese with a Japanese person that could speak English at about the same level as my Japanese, he explained that I shouldn't try to speak Japanese until I learned it perfectly. From then on, he would refuse to speak Japanese and instead would only use broken English. It's possible that there is a similar attitude in Korea, that foreigners should be perfect at speaking Korean before they use it.

I wonder how the foreigners on Korean TV learned to speak Korean?

Mostly I think, foreigners just don't spend enough time studying. It takes a lot of time to absorb.

[Zark]

I found Korean to be one of the easiest languages to learn - of the countries I have lived in. Thai and Madarin were probably the most difficult. Setswana and Ikalanga - were easy too.

[Richard Krainium]

Maybe it's due to our longer legs.

[PeteJB]

Korean is a HIGH context language. You have to make a sentence (and they are often understand from the situation)

Example

쓰다 can mean bitter, also
쓰다 can mean 'to use' (전화 써도 돼요? = Can I use the phone?)
모자를 쓰다 can mean to put on a hat
글을 쓰다 to write

쓰다 is conjugated the same way for all four of those meanings.

Saying just 물 or a single word throws Koreans off. Even if you sounded like a Korean they'd be confused. It's not like in English where you can get by being rude by saying 'water'.

물 좀 주세요. (Some water please)

If your pronunciation is bad, making a full sentence can help. But It seems interacting with Busan, Gwangju and Jeju folk will be a lot harder than around Seoul.

[Ginormousaurus]