Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jambonsambo]

one of my korean colleagues is going abroad next year to study english . She asked me for advice on where to go , she wants to go to either australia , new zealand , canada , US , or Ireland or britain
.
I think that she should avoid australia and new zealand as there are so many koreans there that it would be hard to be in an english speaking enviroment,

If anybody has any experience , insights or advice then please let me know .

[kat2]

I would suggest going to N. America, simply b/c thats the preferred accent here in SK.

I think your too many Koreans=no English studied idea is valid, but you would have the same problem in NYC, LA, Seattle. Send her to some smaller town or a place like Charlotte, NC and there won't be any Koreans.
Are there really Koreans in EVERY part of Australia? It seems like she could escape them by going to a smaller city.

[Ekuboko]

[demaratus]

Saskatchewan and Manitoba Canada would be good choices esp Saskatoon (great university, nuetral west-central Canadian accent). or the Northwest United States.

[merkurix]

Study abroad? That is why the Korean gov't set up half a dozen English Villages, to prevent people from having to do that.

[Chamchiman]

An "outside the box" option:

My girlfriend spent 14 months in India studying English. It's not the route that most Koreans would choose, but according to her, her English improved dramatically and her pronunciation is actually very good (on account of spending a ton of time studying by CD). Money was a primary factor in her choice, as she was paying her own way, as was the opportunity to spend time studying yoga and travelling in a fascinating country. It's not a destination I would have thought of for studying English, but India is a unique and affordable option. (Downside: the preconception amongst potential Korean employers towards North American-educated Korean English teachers leads to the inevitable exclamation, "INDIA?!??")

[itaewonguy]

[demaratus]

[kat2]

Just thought of another thing to consider. Unless you are in a really big city in America, you really MUST have a car. Our public transport is total crap. So, unless she wants to stay in whatever town she picks for an entire year, then don't go to America. Unless she had enough cash to buy a car and pay for insurance. England is freaking expensive, but the transport options are good.
Maybe Ireland? Not as expensive. Decent transport and easy to get out of the country on cheap flights to other parts of Europe. The accent would be dificult for her to understand at first though. Even I have trouble sometimes with Irish or Scotch accents.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Scandanavia or Holland.

[hubba bubba]

If money is an issue, check the Philippines.

[samd]

Korea

[sojourner1]

The good ol' US of A. Of course, only a few of the rich ones get to do that. One of my kindy students left last Friday to stay 6 months in the USA and I bet he comes back with English ability above anyone else in the school. If you ever noticed, the Koreans who do speak English somewhat fluently tend to have traveled outside of Korea which does wonders in expanding their skills on top of all this going to school and going to school in Korea

[dogshed]

[icicle]