Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Grim Ja]

Hi, everyone. My husband and I have a pretty stable life in Korea and it's so great for us to be close to my parents in here. That's why we are still here in Korea.

However, we're constantly worried about our 10 year old boy who goes to an international school in Korea. I'm not quite certain if he's getting a good quality education here in terms of his social and academic surroundings.

First of all, his class is very small and most kids at his age and above at his school choose to leave Korea by then. He will be left with 5 classmates or so in the following term. I see this as a potential problem. I want him to have more wide contact with vareity of peer groups and able to join many activities(e.g., boy scouts, soccer team, baseball team,etc) where he can learn through experience.

Secondly, I assume my kid's English is fine and he wouldn't have any communication difficulties what so ever. However, when we took him to the States, several people commented on his accent saying, " Oh, he has a slightly different accent! Is it European(?)?" I don't think his English is as good as that of American kids who lived there all their lives. Well, funny thing is his Korean's getting weaker and weaker and now he always speaks English at home and school.

It really freaks me out to even think about the possibility that he might end up being not good at either languages. Do you think it's too late for us to take him to America at age 11 or above and expect him to be a truly native speaker without even hinting any foreign accent? Well, if any of you guys have a similar concerns or experience, please share with me. It will help us to decide when and why we should leave Korea.

[Billy Pilgrim]

Personally, my ideal is to have my kids be born in Korea, where my wife will be most comfortable, and we can rely on her family for help during the first year or so, and then stay for three years or so, so that the child can pick up Korean fluently (learning English at home, of course), with regular trips to NZ during vacations to aid in the English as well. Then go back to NZ basically for the rest of his education, with vacations back to Korea during the odd break (with Mom or Dad in tow, of course). When it comes to university, they can choose to go wherever they like - back to Korea, stay in NZ, go elsewhere.

In your case, I would go back to the home country, as long as you are sure your son will be able to fit in well. You know this better than anyone else, I guess.

[Typhoon]

My wife's sister moved to the States when she was 14 years old. At that time she spoke almost no English (she couldn't carry on a basic conversation with me or answer simple questions). She has been in the States for about 3 years now and she is pretty close to fluent. In my experience it is not a rush to get back to English schooling as long as kids are back in time for the last couple years of high school so they can learn proper essay style and formats. Speaking will come easier than the important basics of the language that students need for univeristy.

That being said I will likely be taking my daughter back to Canada when she is ready for Grade 1 becuase I probably won't be able to afford the international school here in Daejeon. I wouldn't mind staying here until she is closer to middle school age, but I don't think it will be financially possible.

[m8888888]

What's wrong with your kid having a slight accent in English?? Especially if you're thinking you might move back the US sometime- tons of people there have accents, and they're doing fine. I don't think people are discriminated against for having an accent all that much in the US, especially if he sounds "slightly European"- Americans love Europeans! Haha! America is so much less homogeneous than Korea. In any case, I think 11 is plenty young enough that he could lose any accent he has if you move back. I think any time during his early teenage years would be young enough to lose any accent.
& a class with only 5 people- I would imagine his education is much better than what most kids get, with such personalized attention!! Wow- 1 teacher for 5 kids, vs. 1 for 40 kids in Korean public schools! But I understand about having limited social interaction- Aren't there Korean soccer teams, baseball teams, and scouts that he could join here?! That would help him keep his Korean strong, too, and widen his peer group a lot. I know there are a lot of Tae Kwon Do classes, and that Korean sword thing (I forget the name!) classes, which could be interesting for him, too. But surely there must also be sports teams and art classes and stuff for kids, too, right?
Good luck!

[aaabank]