Job Discussion Forums

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I think a lot depends on the reaction you get. In China, I was highly encouraged and complimented. Here in Korea, people are the opposite and it puts me off learning the language.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

steviok85 · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 87

No - to my regret. I was working at a school in North-East Bosnia in a radical Serbian town. I met a few people who spoke good English, but there was a feeling of uselessness when I left after 10 months with my Serbian restricted to 'good morning', 'goodbye', 'please', 'thank you' and 'kebab bits with onion'.
Off to Poland next month - my second year there. My Polish is already in a reasonably good position.

caromdweller · Joined: 30 Mar 2010 Posts: 7

I made an effort to learn Chinese language for 2 arduous years but then I discovered that I was actually living in Korea for those two years. Now I know why the shopkeepers did not understand my chinese, because they were korean. So the answer is no do not learn the language because you dont want to know what these people are actually thinking anyway

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

Anyone ever tried to learn Cantonese after already knowing Mandarin? (Or at least knowing some Mandarin.) I always thought Cantonese would be hella hard. But I was watching some Cantonese lessons on Youtube this week, and actually it seems hella easy!

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

I hope to someday learn Cantonese but I need to move to Guangdong first.

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

Do you already know Mandarin? If so, you could learn Cantonese from books and videos without being in Guangdong. From what I can tell, Cantonese is almost like a freebie for someone who knows Mandarin. You will have to make a concentrated effort, but not like learning a new language from scratch. Maybe like, 10 percent of the effort it would take if you didn't know Mandarin.

mimi_intheworld · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 167 Location: UAE

Well, I guess I'm just the opposite of what's been presented here. The only place I've been where I didn't make a concerted effort to learn the language was Ireland, as they've been speaking English for centuries and all.

I regret that I didn't learn more Thai than the very basics (turn left, turn around, second yellow flat on the right, too much, etc.) while I was there, but I'm being proactive this time round and am already studying my Arabic. Even if I can get by in UAE without it (which is what I've heard, by and large), I just really like learning new languages. And (with the glaring exception of German) brushing up on my old ones from time to time.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Interesting thread!

Do any of you find that not having learned or attempted to learn the language of your host nation hindered your ability to teach there?

Dragonlady · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:59 am Post subject:

deleted

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:45 am Post subject:

It's funny- when I was in Ecuador, most teachers got the language, a little or a lot, fairly quickly.

Even folks who didn't make much effort were speaking pidgin Spanish within a couple of years. People who worked at it were speaking quite well in that time.

Now I'm in Korea, which seems to be the international capital of NOT trying to do much with a language. I have taken several Korean classes, and my wife has taken more. Quality of classes available ranges from mediocre to appalling.

At the same time, I find it really hard to practice. In shops, they know enough English to charge you, and aren't really interested in talking beyond that. (I live nearish to a US base- this isn't true throughout the country.)

I really AM making an effort, and am finding it rewarding enough that I will continue to. But I've got to say- no way will my Korean ever be anywhere near as good as my Spanish. Not because it's too difficult. Not because it' too foreign. But because the circumstance I'm living in here doesn't get me enough practice.

So far, I'm expert at taking taxis, ordering in bars and restaurants, buying train tickets and buying stuff in small shops. Not a lot to show for 5
months.

Best,
Justin

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:48 am Post subject:

It's funny- when I was in Ecuador, most teachers got the language, a little or a lot, fairly quickly.

Even folks who didn't make much effort were speaking pidgin Spanish within a couple of years. People who worked at it were speaking quite well in that time.

Now I'm in Korea, which seems to be the international capital of NOT trying to do much with a language. I have taken several Korean classes, and my wife has taken more. Quality of classes available ranges from mediocre to appalling.

At the same time, I find it really hard to practice. In shops, they know enough English to charge you, and aren't really interested in talking beyond that. (I live nearish to a US base- this isn't true throughout the country.)

I really AM making an effort, and am finding it rewarding enough that I will continue to. But I've got to say- no way will my Korean ever be anywhere near as good as my Spanish. Not because it's too difficult. Not because it' too foreign. But because the circumstance I'm living in here doesn't get me enough practice.

So far, I'm expert at taking taxis, ordering in bars and restaurants, buying train tickets and buying stuff in small shops. Not a lot to show for 5
months.

Best,
Justin

PS- Local language, or lack thereof, hasn't effected my ability to work or work well here. But I believe, insistently, stubbornly, that getting on in the workplace would be easier if I could understand Korean staff without them having to work so darn hard at it. If I get there, I'll let y'all know. (Nobody but me, Korean or foreign, seems to believe this will be the case.)

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

In an equal amount of time, given no effort, more of Spanish will seep in from the environment than of any Asian language. Just a matter of the languages being closer genetically.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

No, it hasn't hindered me in the classroom. Sure, it would be nice to throw out a quick translation or explain a rule or something, but in theory, our classes are supposed to be conducted in English. From what I've heard, the students get enough Arabic-based English instruction in their primary & secondary school years--which is why they come to us and can't say anything despite having "studied" the language for years.

Personal relationships do have a lot to do with it, I think. Here, there is very little mixing of foreigners & locals--by far the least of any country I've been in. Sure, there is some, but it's not like other places, where everyone has, or aspires to have, a local girlfriend or boyfriend, and it's certainly not like the snobbier end of the spectrum, where expats go out of their way to avoid each other in an attempt to "go native". Here, the expats hang out with each other, and most of them seem quite happy that way.

But I do agree that showing the students that you can speak any other language helps. They sometimes ask me to say something in Spanish, and then some of them will say the French equivalent, or the Jabali (mountain language, spoken by students from a certain region), etc. It holds their attention for a few seconds, at least!

d