Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shetan]

I am preparing a document for students going to live in USA, Canada etc.. any ideas about ways to make friends with locals to increase their exposure to native speakers.

Korean students main complaint is that westerners are hard to meet....

so... here is my starting list.. any other ideas or comments appreciated...

How to make the most of your internship / overseas experience.

One of the best way to improve your English is make friends with native English speakers people living in that country. Other international students are easy to make friends with but you will pick up their bad English habits if you�re not careful.

How to find local people to interact with.

1) Talk to people at every chance. You don�t have to be close friends, just 30 mins or 1 hour is enough time to practice your conversation. Even 10 mins waiting at a bus stop is good practice. Some people will not be friendly, but most will be happy to answer basic questions. Dont be scared, they wont bite

2) Volunteer Programs. Volunteering is a great way to make friends and you can practice speaking with people as you are helping them. Elderly people usually have good formal English. They don�t use much slang or expressions. Plus they love to talk because they are lonely 

3) Neighbors. Meeting your neighbors can help. Do babysitting. Talk to the kids. Fun and you can make some pocket money  Also join neighborhood watch and find your local community hall for events, clubs and meetings.

4) Language Exchanges. University programs, websites, newspapers often advertise these. Most universities have Korean language program. You can volunteer to help with their Korean and also make friends there.

5) Join a church, club or sports team. Eg. Book discussion, investing or hobby club. People make close friends in club or team. And you don�t have to talk a lot when playing sports. Also its fun 

6) Homestay family or share a house with University students. Great way to practice speaking all day. Also other students can introduce you to their friends. NB. Don�t live with other Koreans. Try not to live with other Asians, their English is not helpful for your learning.

7) Study and learn current events and pop culture. Get familiar with top 10 lists. Eg. Top 10 bands of all time (also current Bands). Top 10 movies, top 10 T.V. Dramas. Learn about the most important political and domestic issues in that country. Learn about the top 5 sports and the best 5 athletes in that sport. These will give you lots of topics to talk about and will make you feel part of the discussion.

Learn the current slang and expressions so you can understand what people are talking about and can join in.

[adeline]

Those suggestions are good. It makes me really sad when I see everyone in racial cliques at my uni. It's sometimes really hard to be friends with someone so different both because of the language and because of social differences. But it is so rewarding, both for learning english, and you always learn the most from the people who are completely different from you.

[shetan]

actually I almost didnt come to Korea.

I went to my university in New Zealand and asked to join the Korean club so I could learn about Korean culture, language and make some Korean friends.

When I turned up they said.. "sorry no foreigners in the Korean club" haha

I was like.... i thought you were the foreigners!!

so I went to another University and the same thing happened!!!! "sorry we dont want westerners in our Korean club" !!!!!!

and they wondered why it was hard to meet local people?? hehe.. gotta laugh!

[MA_TESOL]

we had lots of foreigners in my graduate school; many Koreans, and we were all close friends!! Maybe because it was a smaller department and more mature students. I seriously doubt that meeting Westerners in their country would be any harder than a Westerner being befriended by Koreans here.

[shetan]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I vote for joining a special interest club like photography or a sports team. That way you have at least one common interest to break the ice with.