Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

�� It sets a good example.

When the students see the Korean teachers getting together in the office and hangukmalling like crazy, they probably think, "The teachers don't practice English, why should I?"

If they see you practicing Korean outside of class hours, however, they will probably think, "The foreign teacher is enjoying practicing a second language, maybe I can too."

You're only one person against a whole army of Korean teachers, but do what you can.

�� A lot of potential classroom material is available in the Korean culture.

�Ͳ� is a Korean folk song which is readily adaptable for a lesson on adjectives or antonyms. The kids already know the song. Just translate it into English, and the children will understand.

������ is a picture book which you could almost translate just by looking at the pictures. "Light chipmunk, heavy panda . . . Fierce lion, gentle zebra."

�� The kids shouldn't speak Korean in English class, but when they do, it would help to understand them.

Soon after I arrived in Korea, I held up a picture book and one of the students said, "�� ����." I had to ask the student to write down the sentence on a piece of paper. Then I had to run to the office with the piece of paper and show it to a Korean, who told me that it meant, "I can't see."

�� Studying Korean shows respect for the country and its people.

Koreans probably suspect that �ѱ�� �������� �ʴ� �ܱ����'s look down their noses at Koreans.
Koreans probably suspect that ��. ��. ��. ��.'s cloister themselves with other ��. ��. ��. ��. ��.'s
Koreans probably suspect that ��. ��. ��. ��.'s get together on weekends and bellyache over every little thing.
Koreans probably suspect that there is a message board somewhere on the Internet where ��. ��. ��. ��.'s vent their wrath upon the entire nation of Korea.

Of course, you and I know that this isn't true, but this is probably what Koreans suspect.

(Click on Bogi/Inkoding/Hangukeo to convert the garbage into hangul.)

[Son Deureo!]

[Mashimaro]

If you are interested in learning the language (like I am), you'll do it.. regardless of any well-intentioned reasons you give... Learning Korean so you can understand your students calling you a Babo is hardly motivation enough to study for hours & hours.

[Yaya]

Learning the language of the host country, whether it be Korea, Japan or Tanzania, is definitely a plus and can separate you from the relocated burger flippers.

I, for one, found my life got better the better my Korean got. And learning one language can help you to learn another if you move again.

[Len8]

It's sometimes good to know just what koreans think of English teachers too. Unfortunatley most koreans in their hearts don't think much of us. They envy us, and many are just plain jealous. Especially now with the high unemployment.

I remember helping the head of the English department interview several candidates for a staff position. I had to read something in English and the candidate had to explain what it was I read. Boy you could have cut the candidates animosity to-wards me with a knife, because it was so thick. A lot of the candidates tried to get around their not being able to explain the material, by saying they couldn't understand the Waegukin. They did that with venom. Fortunately the head of the department had the guy he wanted to hire picked out, and of course he explained everything back quite well. He'd lived in Australia for several years. On his transcripts though he had D's for his English coversation classes. Just goes to show you.

[Rand Al Thor]

Because learning a language will help you better to acclimatize to your life in Korea. Even if your just here for the short term learning simple pragmatic chunks will help you to get by.

Shopping, taxi, & resteraunt language is a must.

[crazylemongirl]

Next job I'm looking for a bit more time off so I can study korean. I've got a reasonable level of surival korean but I find myself reading signs and listening to conversations I can't understand in an effort to figure stuff out.

clg

[har]

Better question is why shouldn't we?
We live here. It makes it so much less isolating even understanding and speaking a little Korean. It makes it easier in the classroom, easier in our own lives (shopping, travelling etc.). It also makes it easier to understand the difficulties our students have with English. My constant errors are the same as my students' but in reverse. Plus I find it's something rewarding and interesting to do in my spare time. Keeping the old brain alive.

Just makes sense to me if you're gonna live some where for at least a year, you're going to want to learn the language as best you can in the time you have. I can't wait 'til I'm home and can talk to Korean people there in their own language. Albeit to a limited extent, but still...

[the saint]

There's also the fact that a good understanding of Korean will help you understand the pitfalls that Koreans face in learning English and what they might find difficult which, otherwise, you would not consider a problem for them. Not to mention getting a deeper insight into their culture and therefore their way of thinking.

[crazylemongirl]

the other thing is that you can better communicate with your co-workers. I work at a school as the lone waygookin and I'm sure that I have picked up far my korean than I would if I had english speakers to talk to.

I find that more and my conversations are conducted in a 50/50 korean/english. So some (not all) misunderstandings can be avoided.

CLG

[Len8]

A lot of the university freshmen that we have to teach have minimal English skills, so they barely understand us. Some are just plain thick, and wouldn't even know how to make the effort to understand us. The only way to get through to a lot of them is to explain as much as you can in Korean. Sometimes I'm having to say to the good students "hangulmal moheyo?", so I can explain certain meanings back to the reast of the class

They should make being able to speak limited korean mandatory if you want to teach at a university.

[Corporal]

[mithridates]

I assume he means �ѱ����� ������?
That would make sense.

Anyway, I have another reason to learn Korean (for lifers). Because there is no guarantee that our sweet English teaching jobs will be around forever, that's why.
Which might be a good reason to learn Chinese as well.

[Holyjoe]

[tomato]

Len8's message brought to mind one more occasion in which a teacher would have to speak Korean in the English class: when a statement or question in English is ambiguous, but each of its possible meanings translates differently in Korean.

In one of the Brainy English chain's storybooks, one of the characters asks "Is it a boy or a girl?" The student read it as mi mi mi mi mi mi la, which implies "Is it one or the other?" I tranlated this as "���ھ��� �Ǵ� ���ھ����Դϱ�?"

I had to explain that the correct intonation would be mi mi mi la mi mi la do, thereby implying "Which is it?" I translated that as "���ھ����Դϱ� ���ھ����Դϱ�?"

Len8, did you mean "�ϱ��� �� �ؿ�?"

(To turn the garbage into hangul, click on Bogi/Inkoding/Hangukeo.)