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NETs to be replaced with robots
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T-J



Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:21 am    Post subject: NETs to be replaced with robots Reply with quote

They never cease to amaze...


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_59809.html
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victorology



Joined: 10 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:29 am    Post subject: Re: NETs to be replaced with robots Reply with quote

T-J wrote:
They never cease to amaze...


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_59809.html


robots never cease to amaze?
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nautilus



Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some journo at the paper is having a laff. Laughing

But this is a recurring story so it appears at least some folks think its a good idea.

I don't think robots will be able to teach cultural values, expressions, or how to relate to foreign people somehow.
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ddeubel



Joined: 20 Jul 2005

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could ask Alice

She's made to answer just such questions Smile She's really good at prediction.

DD
http://eflclassroom.com
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nautilus wrote:

I don't think robots will be able to teach cultural values, expressions, or how to relate to foreign people somehow.


How much do you think Koreans care about learning those things?
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nautilus



Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

redaxe wrote:

How much do you think Koreans care about learning those things?


I can't imagine the mothers feeling comfortable with a machine being in charge of their kids. The fathers might not mind, but I think women would look for the human touch when it comes to their childrens education. They know the importance of socialisation.
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djsmnc



Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

WOW! Something to make Koreans MORE nervous in personal encounters with native English speakers.
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Old Gil



Joined: 26 Sep 2009
Location: Got out! olleh!

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Really? Robots teaching? This guy would rather use robots then people from other cultures? There is such a strong Juche streak in the civil service here, it gets very ridiculous at times.
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crossmr



Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Kim said that the numerous native English speakers at Korea's language institutes ― estimated in the vicinity of 30,000 ― will lose their jobs in the not-so-distant future.

Sure they will.
Koreans will pay more for a Native English speaker from the west to do voice chatting over the internet than they will pay for a Filipino. They will then pay much more to have that same native speaker teach them in person.

Unless he's planning on a mass lobotomy robots aren't going to change anything. I also don't expect Koreans to jump on video conferenced classes en masse any time soon. I think they quite like having the teachers in the classroom and getting help personally at their desk. A teacher on a screen can't do that.
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definitely maybe



Joined: 16 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Has Korea learned nothing from I, Robot?!? It's certainly been on enough!
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Moldy Rutabaga



Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Location: Ansan, Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
``Before such sophisticated English-speaking robots debut, teaching by native English speakers will be conducted by video-conferencing with teachers in their home countries,'' he said.

Sure they will. When I sit in my home in Nova Scotia I will effectively be able to deal with issues of class management in a classroom in Miryang. "Please sit down, stop gossiping, and pay attention, or I'll... I'll e-mail the principal." Teenagers are going to respect a robot for two minutes until they hack it with their laptops.

What's the most irritating thing about this article? That such tripe is taken seriously by this joke of a newspaper? That people seriously think that a robot can replicate the interpersonal and imitative role of a teacher? Or that the article is explicitly about replacing foreign English teachers, with robots a yearned-for solution for purging the country of us diseased criminals?
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egrog1717



Joined: 12 Mar 2008

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the future, there will be robots!!
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PatrickGHBusan



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nautilus wrote:

I don't think robots will be able to teach cultural values, expressions, or how to relate to foreign people somehow.


Fair point but NETs are not hired as cultural instructors...they are hired to teach proper English, mostly the spoken portion of the language.
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thegadfly



Joined: 01 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Isn't that an article from The Onion that has been reprinted as news?

Who cares about robot teachers -- I want my flying car! It's the future already, dagnabbit!
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The Cosmic Hum



Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Sonic Space

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This post is pure gold. Cool
We should save it for April Fool's day. Wink

Quote:
By around 2015, robots should be able to help teachers in English classes. By 2018, they should be able to teach on their own while communicating with students," said Kim Shin-hwan, an economist at the Hyundai Research Institute.

I am not sure how a person could make this kind of statement and expect to be taken seriously for the remainder of their professional career.

It seems someone at the Hyundai Research Institute is not fond of having foreign English teachers in Korea.
Quote:
Kim said that the numerous native English speakers at Korea's language institutes - estimated in the vicinity of 30,000 - will lose their jobs in the not-so-distant future.

Even the sales pitch is rather obvious and lame...
Quote:
In the beginning, the high prices of robots may be a hindrance in offering more equal opportunities to every student. But I think that the problems will be tackled in the long run. For example, the government could subsidize their purchase," he said.

Voice recognition software has vastly improved in the past decade, but is nowhere near the vicinity of classroom feedback capability...30+ students talking with different rates of speech and second language accents...brilliant. Cool
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