Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dodge7]

It's rather uncomfortable to me.
It's like raping one's identity.
I'd sooner just learn their Korean name than take away the essence of who they are. (I know about the "theory" that foreigners have a hard time remembering/pronouncing their names so that's why they have one---btw, if that's the case, just remember their family name, i.e, Kim or just their first part of their first name...)



What's behind this anyway: They want to escape the rigid confines of Korean culture so to go as far as taking on a different name?

Enlighten me.

[kimchijigijig]

I now refuse to address Korean students with an English name. Even if they come to my class and they already introduce themselves with their English name I refuse to accept it and ask for their Korean name and tell them that I will only address them so.

Many Hogwans feel that students having an English name helps them in the mindset to speak better English. I think that it is a psycological approach that many feel will help Korean students feel more accustomed.

But there has been no study that I know of that proves that having an English name (or any chosen name of a target language you are learning) actually improves the students language ability, or put them in the right mindset for learning the language.

[bbunce]

I never make students take up an English name. Parents are responsible for naming children not teachers.

[sallymonster]

When I took Spanish in high school, we chose Spanish names to use in class.
I don't see how Koreans taking on English names is any different.

[alongway]

I only recommend an English name if a person has a sound in their name that is unusual for most English speakers to pronounce. For Koreans, there are very few sounds that are truly hard for a native English speaker to pronounce once they've been told. The only real exceptions are 려, 랴, 류, 료, or some combination of those with another consonant. The R/L+Y+vowel isn't really a common sound that appears in English and the one sound that I see native speakers consistantly have issues with.
Even then a lot of Koreans will use one half of their given name as a nickname and you can probably just go with that.

As far as identity goes, a lot of koreans will feel their name is too "common" so they want to take an English name to give them identity.

[wanderkind]

This is interesting, I know a lot of Koreans and I don't think any of them use an English name.

All the Koreans (it was a boarding joint) who came to my high school used Korean names, and still do 10 years later. I think the same went for all the kids at my uni as well.

Actually, I'll amend that I know two who used Anglicized names. One named Song Ik went by 'Sonic', and another by Benjamin, but his name was Jamin Byun (I always found that pretty amusing...)

[amnsg2]

I'm the same, I'm really uncomfortable with English names and I'd rather be corrected on my pronunciation a million times than assign names.

I find them easy to remember once they're written down, except for Hyeon and Hyeong, which I absolutely will get mixed up no matter what. Elementary kids usually tell me an English name which I use, but I find if given a choice later on they pick their Korean name. And when they ask if they should write English or Korean names my response is either and they pretty much always choose to write the Korean name.

One exception and a good argument for English names; I had a shy m/s student called Jae Hwi, and I could not get the Hwi part at all. He seemed (mostly) happy with Jae, and I made sure he knew I knew what his name was by writing it in full during games etc. I felt terrible, but it was one of those situations where the more you get it wrong the more embarrassing it is for them. I have no idea if I was right or wrong on that one!

[liveinkorea316]

I give my university students names at the beginning of the semester. I try and choose interesting and stylish or popular names. Many of them have never had an English name so they find it interesting.

I think some of you guys are getting ahead of yourself. I mean, I am merely giving my students a choice of a name that they can use in future if people ask whether they have an English name. It's totally their choice.

No-one is holding students down and making them use these names. Half the students who take these names really like them but again English is such a small part of their life don'd imagine you are irrepairably damaging them or anything. Many of my students forget the name I suggest for them the minute I give it to them and others ask me not to give them one but 99% say they would like THE OPTION of me giving them one. I can understand that.

[jrwhite82]

If a student wants to use their English name. Then they can use their English name. If he asks me to give him a name, I have a list of the 100 most popular names in my desk and let him choose himself after or before class.

The good thing about letting them use English names, is you are exposing them to a lot of names they might not hear. So it is good to learn other names besides Ted, Annie and Digger.

[edwardcatflap]

[northway]

I give my kids choices:

1) They can use their Korean name (usually they don't want to).

2) Give them five or so names to choose from, based on what I get from their personality and look.

[jrwhite82]

[wanderkind]

[quote]And for the record, "the black guy's" name was Geordi La Forge[/quote]

HA! (also, I don't seem to know how to quote properly.)

[globusmonkey]

His name was Toby!

(Apologies for bringing up a rather ugly portion of American history and a gruesome scene, but I agree that students should only have an English name if they actually want one. Part of the teacher-student relationship here is cultural understanding, and from what I've seen so far, some students just don't care to have an English name. We can help bridge the gap by working on small things like that.)

[koreatimes]

It's either a name or a number. My number in 2nd grade was 28 and my number for soccer, baseball, and football was 34. I use a Chinese name because I am in China, and I also had Korean and Japanese versions of my birth name. In college, they used my social security number. There are many uses. Your name given to you at birth was not your choice.

However, in the scope of this thread, if you are learning a foreign language you can choose. To me, making them use their "real" name is more restrictive than offering them another name. If they refuse, it's usually because they are not comfortable choosing a new name. Encouraging them to be creative and picking out a name is a very enjoyable experience. With adult classes, we joked a lot when assigning names. One Korean guy came in with the name "Hans". He sure didn't look like a stereotypical Hans, but it's great that he went with it. He didn't want another one. Some students chose "Anchovy", "Hamburger" his friend "Hamburger 2", "Battlecruiser" (these were ALL chosen before I came to the school too!!), with girls they would pick a normal name like "Sherry" and change it to "Cherry" (I know it is considered a girl's name, but not very common).

I refuse to only use the "popular" names, because that's not really representational of all names. It usually means it's centralized to biblical oriented names like John, David, or Michael. Instead, I have a few students use their Korean names, some students use common names (based on their Korean name), and then crazy names for other students. I also allow them to choose other Asian names like Japanese girls with names that end in "ko" or Chinese "Lee" for boys.

Basically, if you don't get enough requesting a name, you aren't offering them properly. High school students I can understand, they are too old. In that case, you can create team names. Students work in groups and designate leaders. For adults, you do it for comedy. One woman chose Audrey because she liked Audrey Hepburn.

We're not replacing limbs folks or changing the students' DNA, don't worry.