Korean Job Discussion Forums

[just because]

This is in response to the Real Reality post,
People on this board are constantly down on Koreans for their poor English. I understand they study it but I studied French in school and it did jack for me.
So anyway, for all the long-termers(3 years plus) how many can speak decent Korean. 3 years is enough in my opinion to have a half-decent grasp on the language.
For the short-termers, how many of you make an effort at learning Korean and understanding what it must be like for Koreans learning English. Gives a whole new perspective on things.
Yeah, yeah, I:m going to hear but I am only here for one year speech, why should I care blah blah one year speech, why should I care blah blah ad nauseum. So if you are one of these people you should be the last person to be down on Koreans English skill
Dont forget you live in this country, its so much easier to pick it up than for a Korean learning by ROTE.

[sakamuras]

I think English speakers have it good in Korea. At least here in the U.S., if you can't speak the official language (English), you get socially abused...people telling you "you live in America, why don't you f*cking speak English!". It would be amazing if Koreans started to say that to the caucasians.

But I agree, anyone who bashes on Koreans for not knowing how to speak English is ridiculous.

[bulgogiboy]

I've been here for 1 year exactly and I can speak the basics: small talk, tell the time, count money(of course!), days+ months+years, answer +ask simple questions, give simple directions,give instructions to/insult students, etc. I make an effort but I could make more, I will when I move to Seoul where I want to take a proper course in it.

The Korean friends I've made all want to practice English( so I lazily concede )and when I speak Korean in school the Korean teachers often smirk/chuckle at me, whether I say it correctly or not. No wonder Koreans are so shy about speaking English(even though alot of them can understand more than they reveal), there seems to be a culture that does not accept when you f*ck up.Of course, being a bumbling Scot I am used to f**king up so I am not so shy about trying to speak another language.

I was really keen to learn when I first came here, then it became apparent how difficult it is to learn a foreign language and the enthusiasm waned. I try not to criticise Koreans for not speaking English because it is after all their country and English is just one of many thousands of languages. However, I do make an effort even if I look foolish because I don't want to be another one of those arrogant, lazy foreigners who go abroad with no intention of adapting themselves.

I know for sure that very few people I knew back in Scotland had made the effort to learn any other of the major languages like Spanish, French, Arabic, etc.


Britsh Tourist in France:"I'm not a foreigner, I'm British".

BB

[Gwangjuboy]

[jajdude]

I guess I mainly dislike the aggravation/embarrassment of not being understood when my pronunciation or grammar is off the mark. SO I don't make much effort, just the minimum to function. I think it's mainly only teachers of a foreign language who learn to understand language poorly used. Before teaching English in Korea I could hardly understand poor English. Now I often understand what they're trying to say even when there are many mistakes (mispronunciations, lousy grammar or whatever). I think most native speakers cannot understand their language when it is poorly spoken by foreigners. That is why Koreans often do not understand us when we make mistakes. ANd that is why they encounter troubles when they go abroad, even when their level seems high to us who have taught here a while. People I thought were fluent and spoke quite well told of difficulty communicating when overseas. My new boss speaks very well and I understand everything she says. But a guy who just arrived from the states said he doesn't always understand her. He met a Korean girl and thought her English was not so good because she didn't know expressions like "redneck" and "trailer trash" or "existentialism." But she was pretty much fluent as long as you don't use those difficult expressions more common between native speakers.

[Mashimaro]

I was in Korea for a year and I made an effort - studied almost every day and I saw a big improvement, though still very much a beginner.

[matthewwoodford]

I've been here 3 years and can have simple conversations in Korean but still get confused sometimes. I'm over Koreans not understanding my pronunciation since they have so few opportunities to listen to foreigners mangling their language. I remember being frequently baffled by Koreans' English at first, whereas now it's easy to know what they're trying to say.

White English speakers have an easy ride of course. Nigerians and Pakistanis over here learn Korean super fast as you do when your survival depends on it.

Matt

[the_beaver]

[weatherman]

I make an effort, but the results aren't very pretty to listen to.

[tomato]

Hello, Just Because!

I have been in Korea for 4 years, and I humbly hope that my language ability is what you would consider a "half-decent grasp."

Here is how I am doing on the four skills:

SPEAKING: I can't debate relgion and politics, but I can handle anything which is somewhat lower on the Maslow heirarchy. If I can't express a message in elegant prose, I can usually circumvent those treacherous words and idioms with simpler sentences.

WRITING: If I have something complicated to say, I type it and print it out right here at home on my trusty computer. Then I hand the printed message to the intended recipient of the message. I'm sure that these homemade epistles are not letter-perfect, but they usually get the point across.

READING: When someone sends me a message, I have to spend a half-hour with the dictionary, but that's okay. After all, I'm in the privacy of my home, and nobody has to stand and wait.

LISTENING: This is my downfall. Unlike speaking and writing,
practicing this skill cannot be adapted to my vocabulary.

If I can't understand the first time, and if the other person then repeats the utterance in English, I feel like I've been jabbed with a knife. Yesterday, I attended a local Christmas concert. After the concert,
someone said something that included the word ����. I vaguely remembered that word, but couldn't recall the meaning of the word fast enough. So the other person said, "concert." I felt like two cents.

Someone else asked me something which started with "��� ����. . ." I didn't understand at first, so the other person said, "Where are you from?" I can't understand a simple everyday question like that? I'd rather be seen naked!

I feel much more comfortable speaking to Korean children than speaking to Korean adults. If I don't readily understand what a child is saying, I hand the child a sheet of paper and say something like
"�װ��� ����." If I don't understand the written message either, I look up the unknown words.

That is much less humiliating than falling on the safety net.

(To convert the garbage into Korean, click on Bogi/Inkoding/Hangukeo.)

[the_beaver]

[Mr. Pink]

no comment

[eamo]

[FierceInvalid]

I do all right I guess. I studied alone for months when I first got here but finally found classes I could take along with my work schedule, and that has paid off much more. After all the self-study and five months of two hr/day classes, I can have conversations with people as long as they slow it down a bit for me and don't use difficult vocab too much. No talking about politics or anything, but I can meet someone and get to know them a bit.

I think that there's only a certain amount of Korean you'll ever get by osmosis no matter how long you're here - numbers, restaurants, shopping, directing a cab, basic reading (though even this isn't always a given), that kind of stuff. After that you really just have to take an interest and study further. For me it's been great, but I also really enjoy it. I'd hate to have to study out of a feeling that I should even though it was distasteful.

[jajdude]

There is also often the feeling of, wait, a foreigner, zero Korean! Sometimes you say it perfectly well and the Korean is suddenly deaf! I asked a bus driver if he stops at a certain place, he told me the cost! I know the cost, wanted the destination, repeated 2 or 3 times, he looked at me as though I couldn't understand the fare. Sigh. I got on and hoped for a decent stop somewhere near where I wanted to go. Or was my pronunciation off the mark? Maybe. Of course this could happen anywhere people are not used to a white face, and a white face speaking their local language! Happens in China, Taiwan, Japan etc.. all the time too I guess. The white face appears and the local mind goes blank. Unless you can really get the point across, that yes, I am speaking your speaking your language and you can answer in your language (not too complicated please), then often it's just like your are ignored and shut out. On the same note I sometimes barely listen to my students attempts to express things in English when they are terribly off the mark. How can I explain to them with my lousy Korean what is the proper thing to say and why? Guess that's the Korean English teacher's job?