Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Korean universities have been adding English-language courses in the belief that this will make students more competitive and prepare them for global challenges. But some university students believe that putting so much time and effort into education in English is a poor choice. "The frenzy and glorification of the English language in Korea has gone overboard," says Lee Yoon-joon, an elementary education student at Ewha Womans University. "The purpose of coming to university at all is to learn more about the world and sharpen our analytical skills, so we can behave and live with a heightened sense of awareness."
Students decry English mania
by Koo Mee-hyoe, JoongAng Daily (May 22, 2005)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200505/22/200505222225156009900090109013.html

[Hwajangsil Ajumma]

Won't learning English help the quoted student to "learn more about the world"? Or does she wish to confine her learning to the accepted scholarly practice of books and theory only? Sounds like she'll never trouble herself by applying for a passport.

[mithridates]

IMO we have a problem when �ܿ����п� = �����п�. I always think that they might have some other languages there, but of course not.

[Hyalucent]

[JongnoGuru]

Dang. And, this was going to be my very first RR-ish thread, too.

[igotthisguitar]

[crazylemongirl]

[animalbirdfish]

If Korea really wants to get their English language game together then the students need classes in English other than simply language classes. Science, history, politics, etc. should be taught in English if that's what the students really want to learn. It's not terribly realistic just yet, but good to see the universities taking a step in that direction.


And as for this: "The purpose of coming to university at all is to learn more about the world and sharpen our analytical skills, so we can behave and live with a heightened sense of awareness."

Well, isn't it possible to sharpen those skills in a second language?

[Captain Corea]

Why is it that uni-students, who should be some of the most enlightened people around, have their heads SO far up their butts?

[peppermint]

Actually most adult hagwons do offer classes in Japanese and Chinese as well as English. Too bad there aren't many offering classes in languages besides those 3

[mithridates]

Not just in the hagwons, but in the newspapers. One article I saw a month ago said 'government to strengthen the �ܱ��� education over five years!'

I thought, "Nice! Will they bring in more Semetic languages? Maybe Turkish ones, and perhaps more research into whether Uigur and Korean are related? Or perhaps some new members of the European Union, Estonian or something," and then I read the article. It was about GEPIK Oh. More 'native English speakers'. How charming.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

It should look suspicious when a university student-- let alone an elementary education student-- complains about a subject where you're forced to put some effort into learning. I was a BEd student once, and spent far too much time learning teacher union flatulence and useless courses on lesson planning theory, and very little time in intellectually challenging subjects. People still complained about the burden, oh the burden. What courses is she proposing that hone her analytical skills? My guess is that it's Korean folklore-- or better yet, nothing at all-- and not Quadratics.

Ken:>

[meagicano]

Yonsei students can, and do take classes in English if they want - I have one class where I'm the only exchange student and the others are regular Yonsei.

Some of them have been educated abroad and thus want to keep up their command of the English language. Others want to challenge themselves and put their English into practice, having learned it in hagwons but not having the opportunity to live and study in English language countries.

[bosintang]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

"