Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JacktheCat]

Another thread got me thinking ...

Do Koreans believe in English magic?

That is, do Koreans believe they can learn English by osmosis? That just being in a room with a blonde haired, blue eyed waegukin is all it takes to learn English and they don't really have to do any real, hard linguistic work and actually study.

[wwidgirl]

don't koreans believe that if they swallow their notes they'll learn the material??? I think I've seen movies where korea students eat their notes.

[adventureman]

[tomato]

Jack the Cat, I think you're right, except that it's more general than that: Learning is equated with class attendance in any area, not just English classes with a foreign teacher. And this equation is made by both teachers and students.

That's the most parsimonious answer I could get for many questions which have puzzled me:

�� Why do we see so many hagweons compared to so few bookstores in Korea? Probably because of a myth that you can't learn anything by buying a book and reading it at home.

�� Why do high schools hold students until ten o'clock at night instead of assigning homework? Probably because neither the teachers nor the students can conceive of homework.

�� Why are Korean universities notorious as playgrounds? Probably because they are following the Western custom of holding fewer class hours and are unable to make up the difference in homework.

�� Many other Western customs have disseminated into Korea; why are there so few correspondence courses? Probably because not enough Koreans will believe that one can learn anything without attending classes.

�� My director insists on zipping the students through the textbooks of at least a page a day, whether they understand anything or not. I can't shake her of the conviction that covering material does not guarantee learning material.

�� When I tell Koreans that I study Korean, they ask, "How is that possible? I didn't know there were any Korean classes in town."

�� In my first job, two students attended brought an English grammar rulebook to class and listened to the school director read from that rulebook for a whole hour. There was no discussion, no testing, no conversation practice, no nothing. Yet those two students continued to attend that class month after month. I wondered, "Why don't they just buy a copy of the book and stay home?"

[nasigoreng]

Yes, Koreans believe in "achieving without working." Korean travel agencies offer a travel package to Canada to take the TOIEC test because parents and/or students believe they can score higher if they take the test in Canada.

[Ya-ta Boy]

An addendum to all this:

It's a commonly held belief that ANYONE can teach. I've had two different bosses tell me this. I made no headway whatsoever in trying to convince them otherwise.

It goes a long way in explaining why teachers just read to the students and the students copy it down.

It also explains why so many professors are so bad. It's about rank and position, not teaching ability.

[tomato]

Ya-ta boy, I'll have to think about your post.
I have wondered why directors concern themselves so much with inconsequential traits such as gender, age, nationality, hair color, eye color, and skin color when good teachers are so hard to find.

I have also wondered why prospective employers so seldom ask teachers about their teaching methods. I have likewise wondered why prospective customers so seldom ask directors about their teaching methods.

[JacktheCat]

[agraham]

[jajdude]

Maybe Koreans are starting to realize, perhaps like the Japanese have already, that it isn't so easy to learn English. It actually takes time and effort. I think a lot know this already actually, but some parents perhaps wonder why their kids can barely speak the basics after a year of more of 3-5 hours per week at the hagwon.

Five years and 1000 more hours of English classroom time later.......
"So, when's yr birthday?"
"Um, er, .................."
(well, that was time and money well spent)

I also experienced unrealistic expectations in Taiwan. Fluency in 3 months for my kid? No problem. And you, mom, how come you can barely say "hello"?

[tomato]

When Korean English students see a foreigner, why do they clap their hands in glee and say, "Oh, boy! Here is a chance to practice English!" What is keeping them from practicing English with the millions of other Korean English students?

I have long wondered about this phenomenon.
For more discussion on this, see my thread:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=35945&highlight=

Maybe the answer to this question lies in the myth of English magic. That is, "a blonde haired, blue eyed waegukin" can do more good than any amount of informal conversation practice.
Thank you for starting this thread, Jack the Cat!

[paperbag princess]

i love this one, "i've been in class for 1 month and my english hasn't become fluent yet, why?"

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[tomato]

This thread has explained still one more questtion which I have been wondering about:

You've noticed that Koreans in respected professions are called ������ whether they are really teachers or not. The implication, apparently, is that teachers are smart, and that the person being addressed is so smart that he or she may as well be a teacher.

But don't teaching qualifications require teaching ability, as well as knowledge of the subject matter? Not if Ya-ta Boy is correct in his observation that Korean administrators respect "rank and position, not teaching ability."

Thank you, Ya-ta Boy, and thanks again, Jack the Cat!

[casey's moon]

Tomato, your list of observations is interesting and almost convincing, except that I am married to a Korean who buys hundreds of books a year (and reads most of them too), is studying through correspondence, and has learned tons of things by himself. I realize that you were talking about Koreans in general and that you know there are plenty of exceptions -- but I have never had the feeling that my husband is that much of an exception when it comes to self study. In fact, a lot of my former conversation class adult students were doing tons of self study and a good 25% of my teaching time was taken up by their questions related to material they were using on their own.

I'm confused now, because your points really did ring true for a moment there, but after thinking again I'm just not sure.

As for book stores -- umm, there are tons of book stores on the street (just not very good ones) and I'm sure a great deal of Koreans order books online.