|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
|
 Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:32 am Post subject: |
 |
|
Back in 1994, my first year in Korea, I also had a few language "exchanges." My Korean was better than most non-Korean expats but yes, I also got taken advantage of. The biggest offense was when they would bring papers with a completely unintelligible attempt at English writing and ask me to proofread it. Being a frank and honest person, I either said, "Sorry, this is a language exchange, NOT free editing," or "My fee is W..." They got the message fast.
If you are interested in a language exchange, set a preliminary period of, say, three lessons to judge whether you the expat is getting as much out of it as you put in. Watch out for sneaky behavior by the Korean in trying to get as much out of you.
My rules for language exchange:
1) Be firm. If your partner is taking advantage of you, give him or her the boot and find someone else.
2) Set ground rules, as in NO bringing of friends to the language exchange, no proofreading for free, and the like. Keep it simple.
3) Better yet, find someone whose English is bad and just pay them for lessons. You should be able to find a cash-deficient undergrad for 20,000 won per hour. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
bobbyhanlon
Joined: 09 Nov 2003
Location: 서울
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:49 am Post subject: |
|
|
| seriously, pay somebody. it doesn't cost much, and you can cut the english out completely. i put an ad on a naver cafe back in june, asking for a korean conversation partner who would be prepared to talk for two hours at a time and never use a single word of english. i found someone great, and we've been meeting on average twice a week since then. i'd really recommend this to anyone as a way forward. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jfromtheway
Joined: 20 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:57 am Post subject: |
|
|
| fermentation wrote: |
I went to one where they didn't have enough white people so they had me pretend I was American for free pizza and beer.
This is all the rage. I saw an ad for "working holidays" and one of the key points was that you could meet foreign friends who are white. I thought it was funny they emphasized the white bit. |
That's good humor there. I went to a few when I first got here and they were, eh, alright. I had more fun AFTER the "language exchange" deal was over, though. And Mix1 had it spot on, it's a pseudonym used to facilitate the process of meeting new people and getting your biz on with tropical flavors. And the Koreans get to try to learn English. I, likely correctly, assumed that the Korean guys were there hunting for white women, otherwise it would be akin to a self-induced anxiety attack for the lot of them.
There are Koreans EVERYWHERE, I'd just speak Korean with them and build up steadily if I were going for a "language immersion" thing. But, aside from studying Korean, finding a Korean girlfriend would probably be the second best way to learn the language. And that's kind of what these "language exchange" things are for. I haven't been to one in over seven months, but not too long ago, someone posted an article on Dave's about a guy meeting two women at one of these events who had sex with him and gave him drugs for months, so I've been reconsidering. $10 for all you can drink and an increased chance of getting laid? Even if there are shady characters behind it, that ain't a bad deal fellas.
| Quote: |
| If anybody has the initiative, a good idea would be to create a "meet a foreign boyfriend" meetup group and make something explicit. |
Aye. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
swashbuckler
Joined: 20 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
| jfromtheway wrote: |
| $10 for all you can drink and an increased chance of getting laid? Even if there are shady characters behind it, that ain't a bad deal fellas. |
The language exchange being referred to in OP is not a booze party (yes, they have those too and yes, they are regularly used as excuses to hook-up). It's held at a coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon.
Boring to the nth degree. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jfromtheway
Joined: 20 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
| swashbuckler wrote: |
| jfromtheway wrote: |
| $10 for all you can drink and an increased chance of getting laid? Even if there are shady characters behind it, that ain't a bad deal fellas. |
The language exchange being referred to in OP is not a booze party (yes, they have those too and yes, they are regularly used as excuses to hook-up). It's held at a coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon.
Boring to the nth degree. |
My mistake then. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
| A language exchange system that works for me is meeting a friend who speaks English pretty well once a week for dinner. Conversation is in English. It's good practice for her. Then we go for coffee and I'll use that time to ask how to say various things in Korean. I could turn up with a phrase in English I'd like to know in Korean, learn that expression, then start asking about variations of the expression. When I turn up with an idea of what I want to learn it tends to go pretty well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Language exchange can work sometimes. You can also form of a group of expats that study together using certain materials and invite Koreans to help you. Then, after an hour and a half of that including 20 minutes of breaks, have dinner for an hour or so and engage in tons of English conversation with them. They'd like the expat atmosphere, IMHO. It also encourages other foreigners to study Korean and keep motivated. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nate1983
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Adventurer wrote: |
| Language exchange can work sometimes. You can also form of a group of expats that study together using certain materials and invite Koreans to help you. Then, after an hour and a half of that including 20 minutes of breaks, have dinner for an hour or so and engage in tons of English conversation with them. They'd like the expat atmosphere, IMHO. It also encourages other foreigners to study Korean and keep motivated. |
That's a good idea.
Another idea, if your Korean level is low, is to bring a textbook or Topik exam and ask a Korean to help explain some of the things in English. That way you're learning about Korean, whereas they're actually getting to use their English. Then you can try to repeat and use back the Korean expressions/grammar you learned. If your level is high, offer to help a Korean with their TOEIC/TOEFL exam, where you explain to them the answers and grammatical nuances in Korean - I've done that and found it really helpful to make me actively practice vocabulary I wouldn't usually get to.
As your level improves, more Koreans will decide to just drop speaking English and switch over to Korean to facilitate communication (don't expect all to, even when your Korean's much better than their English). My endontist was young and did all her schooling in the US, and I'm not looking for a language exchange at the dentist's office, so of course I was happy just speaking English. On about my fifth visit, she asked if she could explain everything in Korean (she'd heard me speak Korean with the assistants enough to know there shouldn't be any problems), and since then all our communication has been in Korean. I've had other Korean friends, who I spoke to in English as they spoke pretty well and I thought they may like to practice English, who picked up on my Korean level from something as simple as ordering drinks, and we basically switched to speaking Korean from that point on. If you're both proficient enough in each other's language to communicate with no issues, but you both want to keep practicing, then you should probably find a way to systematically divide the time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have helped start a Korean language club for expats. It does work. Find expats and decide on materials and start studying. Eventually, you'll find Koreans you know who will want to join and help you, and they will be helping you with clear things from certain materials, and you'll start speaking more Korean with them. Then, after you're done studying Korean because you've had enough you can talk to them for about an hour or so just in English. That's a win-win for everyone.
I set up a club like that with someone, and we've had to turn away some Koreans because we have so many who want to join our group of expats.
I have advice on how to set it up for someone whose interested, and I can give the facebook link to our group in our city. Send me a PM. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| nate1983 wrote: |
| Adventurer wrote: |
| Language exchange can work sometimes. You can also form of a group of expats that study together using certain materials and invite Koreans to help you. Then, after an hour and a half of that including 20 minutes of breaks, have dinner for an hour or so and engage in tons of English conversation with them. They'd like the expat atmosphere, IMHO. It also encourages other foreigners to study Korean and keep motivated. |
That's a good idea.
Another idea, if your Korean level is low, is to bring a textbook or Topik exam and ask a Korean to help explain some of the things in English. That way you're learning about Korean, whereas they're actually getting to use their English. Then you can try to repeat and use back the Korean expressions/grammar you learned. If your level is high, offer to help a Korean with their TOEIC/TOEFL exam, where you explain to them the answers and grammatical nuances in Korean - I've done that and found it really helpful to make me actively practice vocabulary I wouldn't usually get to.
As your level improves, more Koreans will decide to just drop speaking English and switch over to Korean to facilitate communication (don't expect all to, even when your Korean's much better than their English). My endontist was young and did all her schooling in the US, and I'm not looking for a language exchange at the dentist's office, so of course I was happy just speaking English. On about my fifth visit, she asked if she could explain everything in Korean (she'd heard me speak Korean with the assistants enough to know there shouldn't be any problems), and since then all our communication has been in Korean. I've had other Korean friends, who I spoke to in English as they spoke pretty well and I thought they may like to practice English, who picked up on my Korean level from something as simple as ordering drinks, and we basically switched to speaking Korean from that point on. If you're both proficient enough in each other's language to communicate with no issues, but you both want to keep practicing, then you should probably find a way to systematically divide the time. |
I don't use a TOPIK exam, but it seems like a good idea in principal. How much Korean do you need to know to look through the TOPIK 1 stuff? I know there are several levels of it. I use Talk to Me in Korean and Teach Yourself Korean. So far, we're using TTMIK in with the Korean teachers. If people try language exchange with no proper materials, it won't work. The Koreans wouldn't know what to do. They're not used to that. They know more English, so they will focus on them learning English. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| joesp wrote: |
I am grateful for the one confessor who admitted, like me, to having gone to one or two then realized what is going on. If you look at the pictures of the organizers (the "not David" people), I wouldn't trust either one of those guys with 5,000 won.
What makes me so angry, besides what I mentioned, is the apparent obliviousness of the foreignersto the absolute ludicrousness of the situation. There were even actually 4 college students who took my picture and asked me interview questions for a college class.
I feel sorry for the foreigners who regularly attend these meetings because they have been so bullied by Korean society into believing the myths about the foreign English teacher, especially the following three points:
1) you are not allowed to speak Korean
2) you cannot speak Korean
3) my English is always better than your Korean
For some reason, I feel like the Korean organizers have scammed the foreigner attendees who haven't been in Korea long enough or don't have the resources to realize they can do better for themselves. It seems so unjust. |
(bolding mine)
For "foreigner attendees who haven't been in Korea long enough or don't have the resources to realize they can do better..."
Wouldn't point 3 almost always be true while point 2 would be true a great deal of the time? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jpe
Joined: 15 Aug 2011
Location: Seoul, SK
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Squire wrote: |
| A language exchange system that works for me is meeting a friend who speaks English pretty well once a week for dinner. Conversation is in English. It's good practice for her. Then we go for coffee and I'll use that time to ask how to say various things in Korean. I could turn up with a phrase in English I'd like to know in Korean, learn that expression, then start asking about variations of the expression. When I turn up with an idea of what I want to learn it tends to go pretty well. |
I've just started, so it's hard to say, but I'm doing something similar. My Korean is really really basic; her English is excellent (but she's lacking a little confidence). We talk in English (and I don't need to prepare anything) then she explains some things in Korean and tries to ask me a few questions.
If anything, I feel like I'm taking advantage of her, because I don't have to think about what we're talking about, but she has to figure out where to start with me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
|
| Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
dude, id do it once to see if the chicks were hot and get their numbers and thats all. 10000 is fine one time..
i speak korean and you know how i did it...i bully them into stop speaking konglish to me, and you know, it works, you just have to show them youre serious and a bit intimidating.....sounds weird, but it works |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jane
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Reminds me of the Seoul tour bus thing that happened a few years ago.
Unsuspecting tourists were taking the bus to visit the tourist sites of Seoul, and the tour company was charging Koreans to take the bus to 'meet foreigners' and speak English.
Here is the article:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/117_29872.html |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 2:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Jane wrote: |
Reminds me of the Seoul tour bus thing that happened a few years ago.
Unsuspecting tourists were taking the bus to visit the tourist sites of Seoul, and the tour company was charging Koreans to take the bus to 'meet foreigners' and speak English.
Here is the article:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/117_29872.html |
I think such a thing is kind of dishonest because the foreign tourists may no appreciate being used in that manner. It's one thing if you tell the tourists, and they accept the idea. Personally, I'd object and not sign up with a tour company doing that. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
