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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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 Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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| cincynate wrote: |
| It will overtake the US, but not the west as a whole. |
Very possible, but raising that per capita number, so that the average Chinese affluence is comparable to the top 30 countries in the world will take much much longer. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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| litebear wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| itistime wrote: |
I tell my students that it would behoove them to be competitive
from a multilingual standpoint to learn either Chinese or Japanese.
We have a Japanese teacher at the school and I banter in Chinese
with some of the more educated pupils. |
I think Japanese is not really that useful in the world perspective. Japan has hit it's peak and it's been on a flat-line for the last 20 years. Don't get me wrong, it will be one of the major players for the nest few generations, but that's all. It's basically the same level as Korean, or German, as far as usefulness.
Chinese may have potential to rival English, but English will be the language to learn, at least for westerners. Although I can see Chinese becoming the Asian language of commerce (like how it was a few hundred years ago), but if dealing with people outside of Asian it will have to be English. |
I don't think you can compare Korean and German in terms of usefulness. When applying for the jobs in Continental Europe being able to speak German well is an incredbily useful skill and occasionally a requirement. |
I've lived and worked in both Korea and Germany and reached an advanced level in both languages, and I'd disagree. I think jvalmer was pretty spot on with that comparison. German can indeed be quite useful in parts of continental Europe. There are after all 100 million native speakers of the language in Europe, more than English, French or any other language in Europe. However, the level of English amongst those native German speakers is extremely high and it's very often the case that they automatically expect to communicate with people other than native speakers of German in English.
In the Iron Curtain days, it used to be that German was useful in Eastern Europe, perhaps because of the influence of the GDR. But it seems to me now that Eastern Europeans will learn English first, and German only if they're actually intending to focus on Germany.
If you're doing business with German speakers or dealing with German tourists, it obviously won't do you any harm to be able to speak German well, but I'm afraid it's frequently the case that knowledge of German isn't that big a deal at all. As someone who reached a level of near native fluency in German myself, I wish that it were a more valued skill that it is, but unfortunately it isn't.
Korean native speakers may be slightly less in number than Germans, but if you're doing business with Koreans or dealing with Korean tourists, on the other hand, there's a significantly lower chance that they're going to speak English well. The cultural difference is also greater than that between English and German speakers and the cultural insight that advanced language study gives you would likely be more of an advantage in the case of Korean than German for an English speaking learner.
To suggest that Korean rivals English, Mandarin, Spanish or French as a world language would be silly, of course. But comparing it with German is pretty much on the money IMO.
The other thing we should always bear in mind is that foreign language usefulness is entirely subjective and dependent on individual circumstances. |
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Fat_Elvis
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: In the ghetto
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| I think to see the popularity of learning English is Korea as due to it's status as a lingua franca in the world is missing the mark somewhat. I mean, how many people learning English in Korea are ever going to use it in any meaningful way? 'English frenzy' has very little to do with what happens overseas. It's as much due to English ability being a class marker in Korean society as anything else - ability in English will get you a job at a good company and is a way of differentiating between people. Unless Mandarin can somehow usurp this role from English in Korean society, it will be a while before Mandarin takes over from English. |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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You know the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement? This will bring more French companies and investments to Korea. Apparently I have to tutor French to a high school student in my church.
French will be slightly more prominent in Seoul. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
You know the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement? This will bring more French companies and investments to Korea. Apparently I have to tutor French to a high school student in my church.
French will be slightly more prominent in Seoul. |
Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it.
There are thousands of American companies in Korea, and 99% of them speak Korean exclusively in the office. The only time they speak English is when some VIP comes to visit, or through email/phone conversations with the main office.
Hence of the reasons foreigners have a VERY hard time getting a company job here in Korea. Korean is the language of the office. |
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whiteshoes
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 12:42 am Post subject: |
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My niece just started her Chinese semi-immersion kindergarten classes in rural Michigan yesterday.
Seriously. |
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One Shot
Joined: 23 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
You know the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement? This will bring more French companies and investments to Korea. Apparently I have to tutor French to a high school student in my church.
French will be slightly more prominent in Seoul. |
Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it.
There are thousands of American companies in Korea, and 99% of them speak Korean exclusively in the office. The only time they speak English is when some VIP comes to visit, or through email/phone conversations with the main office.
Hence of the reasons foreigners have a VERY hard time getting a company job here in Korea. Korean is the language of the office. |
That's a good point, unless a Korean office worker interacts with foreigners then they don't really have a use for English at the office. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:44 am Post subject: |
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| Fat_Elvis wrote: |
| I think to see the popularity of learning English is Korea as due to it's status as a lingua franca in the world is missing the mark somewhat. I mean, how many people learning English in Korea are ever going to use it in any meaningful way? 'English frenzy' has very little to do with what happens overseas. It's as much due to English ability being a class marker in Korean society as anything else - ability in English will get you a job at a good company and is a way of differentiating between people. Unless Mandarin can somehow usurp this role from English in Korean society, it will be a while before Mandarin takes over from English. |
doesnt matter, as long as they THINK they need to learn, or the companies demand English tests, they will keep in lockstep towards the magical English rainbow, and we will keep working.
I always say that Kindies are the best bit in the English game here, and why? because its the parents first chance to start throwing money at the magical English monster that leads to a good future and the kids dont have so many other socail obligations to keep them from attending classes. The older they get during Elem. school, the higher the chance of leaving or dropping out. |
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litebear
Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Holland
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 10:09 am Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| litebear wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| itistime wrote: |
I tell my students that it would behoove them to be competitive
from a multilingual standpoint to learn either Chinese or Japanese.
We have a Japanese teacher at the school and I banter in Chinese
with some of the more educated pupils. |
I think Japanese is not really that useful in the world perspective. Japan has hit it's peak and it's been on a flat-line for the last 20 years. Don't get me wrong, it will be one of the major players for the nest few generations, but that's all. It's basically the same level as Korean, or German, as far as usefulness.
Chinese may have potential to rival English, but English will be the language to learn, at least for westerners. Although I can see Chinese becoming the Asian language of commerce (like how it was a few hundred years ago), but if dealing with people outside of Asian it will have to be English. |
I don't think you can compare Korean and German in terms of usefulness. When applying for the jobs in Continental Europe being able to speak German well is an incredbily useful skill and occasionally a requirement. |
I've lived and worked in both Korea and Germany and reached an advanced level in both languages, and I'd disagree. I think jvalmer was pretty spot on with that comparison. German can indeed be quite useful in parts of continental Europe. There are after all 100 million native speakers of the language in Europe, more than English, French or any other language in Europe. However, the level of English amongst those native German speakers is extremely high and it's very often the case that they automatically expect to communicate with people other than native speakers of German in English.
In the Iron Curtain days, it used to be that German was useful in Eastern Europe, perhaps because of the influence of the GDR. But it seems to me now that Eastern Europeans will learn English first, and German only if they're actually intending to focus on Germany.
If you're doing business with German speakers or dealing with German tourists, it obviously won't do you any harm to be able to speak German well, but I'm afraid it's frequently the case that knowledge of German isn't that big a deal at all. As someone who reached a level of near native fluency in German myself, I wish that it were a more valued skill that it is, but unfortunately it isn't.
Korean native speakers may be slightly less in number than Germans, but if you're doing business with Koreans or dealing with Korean tourists, on the other hand, there's a significantly lower chance that they're going to speak English well. The cultural difference is also greater than that between English and German speakers and the cultural insight that advanced language study gives you would likely be more of an advantage in the case of Korean than German for an English speaking learner.
To suggest that Korean rivals English, Mandarin, Spanish or French as a world language would be silly, of course. But comparing it with German is pretty much on the money IMO.
The other thing we should always bear in mind is that foreign language usefulness is entirely subjective and dependent on individual circumstances. |
I'll bow to your greater knowledge as a German speaker. I was basing my experience of living and working in the Netherlands. I was taken aback by how many jobs listed German language ability as either a requirement or desirable skill. I suppose that jobs in China, Philippines and/or Japan could also require the same in terms of Korean ability and I would have no idea.
From a purely European (as a hypothetical European person wishing only to do business in Europe) perspective I have always rated German ahead of French and Spanish as the next most important language (purely anecdotal mind you). |
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