Korean Job Discussion Forums

buckeye101 · Joined: 09 Nov 2009

are they helpful? because how can i communicate with kids if i dont know alot of their language?

kangnamdragun · Joined: 28 Mar 2009

Most people here don't know Korean.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Home sweet home

Kids will pick up English a lot faster than you will pick up Korean.

edwardcatflap · Joined: 22 Mar 2009

Would you feel confident teaching a Korean adult beginner English in a one to one situation professionally, ie would you be able to plan interesting lessons for them and know about how to intoduce new language so it isn't too daunting and how much repetition and recycling you would need to get them to improve at a reasonable rate? If the answer is yes then I wouldn't do a language exchange because it'll probably be one sided and you'll end up teaching your partner how to teach you. Ifr the answer is no, you'll probably both be at the same level of teaching ability and it'll be a fair swap

frankly speaking · Joined: 23 Oct 2005

Since the method of choice for teaching EFL in Korea is the communicative approach, knowing Korean isn't necessary for you to teach.

Language exchanges typically fail because one person is better at one language and the comfort zone usually stays in that language. I have never had a success with them myself. However, others that I have talked to find them useful and enjoy it. I prefer to study a little through texts and mostly by immersing myself in areas where I need to use the language.

Get out of your comfort zone and spend more time with Koreans that don't speak English. It really is the most effective way to develop active language skills.

"Kids will pick up English a lot faster than you will pick up Korean."

Nature Girl you really have a bias against adult learners. I don't know why someone who thinks that children learn languages better than adults, would take a job teaching adults. If you don't think that it is effective than why do it?

The literature and contemporary research shows that adults do learn languages better than young learners. The younger that someone learns a language the easier it is for them to adapt the accent, not learn the language. However, about 5 years ago a Japanese Linguist developed a regime for adults that allowed them to develop native accents.

Children may be less inhibited, so that they are more communicative, but doesn't mean that they actually know the language better.

Adults can learn languages quite well, otherwise why would anyone teach them?

People with that attitude either need to stick with teaching children, or read more about the field that they are teaching.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Seoul'n'Corea · Joined: 06 Nov 2008

frankly speaking · Joined: 23 Oct 2005

The only problem with the children absorb like sponge theory, is that they have not developed their cognitive abilities fully. A lot of children will learn things and then forget them in less than a year. I had friend who was a mathematics professor at the local university, He taught his young son, age 6, calculus. His son could do some graphs and calculations and it was amazing. However, when the kid was age 9 he no longer could do it. He wasn't any more advanced in math than the other kids in his class. Perhaps if his father continued doing it everyday, but other things became priority. The point is that adults who learn calculus can use that knowledge to build on other things and young learners cannot because of a lack of cognitive development.

When adults learn facts they tend to keep them stored longer if they have learned to develop cognitive learning strategies. Adults have just as limitless learning potential as children, the problem is that most adults let the brain get cluttered with social inhibitors.

Why do non traditional students (adults that go back to college in their latge 30's-40's tend to do better than younger students? If their brains are so crystalized, how can they learn?

I think that kids are sponges too, but I also think that adults can be if they put learning as a priority. There has been a lot of research in the past few decades to show the importance of adult learning and education.