Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ajuma]

I teach a couple of high-level writing and conversation classes, and I'm trying to UNteach some of the more common Konglish-type errors. I've come up with a few, but I need suggestions for more. For example, students often say "I expect our meeting" (when they mean "look forward to"), "I want to make a girlfriend" (when they mean "get" or "find") or "I confessed my love to her" (when they mean "I told her I loved her").

Any other examples will be appreciated!

[some waygug-in]

One that always annoys me is , "I have a promise tomorrow"

meaning "I have an appointment tomorrow".

I think there is a website somewhere that has a whole list of these things.

I can't remember exactly.

Here's one: http://efl.htmlplanet.com/konglish.htm

[ajuma]

[some waygug-in]

It sort of can be used in Engish as well, but you have to say promised to meet ..........

Example: I promised to meet Jack at 3 O'clock.

[denverdeath]

"Almost Koreans are crazy."

"Most of Koreans are crazy."

"And Koreans are crazy."

"But Koreans are crazy."

"Or Koreans are crazy."

"So Koreans are crazy."

"Almost of Koreans have been going to have been gone to liked to have ever been to have am been going to write a very very complexity sentency."

"No smoking" when they mean "Don't smoke" and "Don't smoke" when they mean "No smoking."

"Nice to meet you" when you actually met them two years ago.

The question "How was your weekend?" is answered with some kind of "Ugh" rather than "Good/Bad/Pretty good/Not so bad/Spectacular/Whatever."

"As you know, ..." has been beaten like a dead horse.

"What did you do on the weekend?" is answered with "My g/f and I played." Played what? You are adults. Did you play basketball? Get frisky in a DVD-bahng? Hang out together? What?

B/f / G/f / Lover references are often messed up.

Multiple problems with "a/an/the."


-Tell them about the proper layout/format for the different kinds of writing.

-Tell them to use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

-Tell them to use coordinating conjunctions to join sentences.

-Tell them to keep things simple. Keep to one verb tense. Just because it looks/seems complex to them doesn't mean it makes any sense whatsoever. Tell them to remember that the present progressive tense is am/is/are + verb + ing. They always seem to add the ing but forget the am/is/are.

-Tell them to write to the end of each line and not begin a new sentence on a new line.

-Tell them to not <Make a Title like This> or "This"

-Tell them about topic sentences and thesis statements.

-Tell them to be careful with the use of the word "proposal."

-Tell them to organize their thoughts and do a little brainstorming before putting their pens to paper.



"Hey, man. I thought we had a promise."

"You promised to meet me here at 2 o'clock." --> "Our promise was for you to meet me here at 2 o'clock."

The above examples might be fine, but it's true that the students always/often confuse "We have an appointment" with "We have a promise."



The link that some waygug-in gave is a really good one. Show that list to the students and tell them that almost every one of the things in the list is incorrect - that'll really open their eyes. I think the "PENSION" referred to on that web-site refers to the French term meaning "a small, usu cheap, hotel in some European countries, esp France." Perhaps it might also refer to the North American "boarding house" which is not usu too luxurious. I think it would be better if the Koreans just referred to those kinds of accommodations as cabins or cottages.

[cutebecca]

some annoying (higher level) writing mistakes i've encountered are an overuse and misuse of words/phrases like "actually, as a result, in conclusion, therefore, thus, however, following," etc. these words/phrases can be really helpful to join ideas but are often unnecessary. not to mention the fact that many are much stronger nestled in the sentence rather than at the beginning. for instance: "however, he did not write well." versus: "he did not, however, write well."

whenever i read a higher level paper written by a korean, these words pop out at me and really distract from the subject of the paper. good writing is simple and clear. so complex verb tenses (as another person mentioned) and overuse of "thus" is unnecessary.

[ajuma]

denverdeath: Thanks for the reminder about "play". I've gone over most of the other stuff with them, and the ones that I had last semester have pretty much stopped starting sentences with And, So or But.

I'm going to really start getting on them about punctuation and capitalization. Some of them think that these things are optional!

Another thing I'll be doing is teaching the correct pronunciation of "version". It often comes out sounding pretty odd...especially talking about the "English Virgin" of Windows!

[ilovebdt]

[Ekuboko]

"[I called and called but] I couldn't contact to him."
They mean: "I couldn't make contact with him" or "I couldn't get in touch with him."
(This one really bugs me!)

"You need to get the Principal's sign"
They mean: 'signature'

"give a birth"

"My condition is not good"
They really mean to say: "I don't feel well"

"This food is very healthful."

"This is very well-being food." (using well-being, which is only a noun in English, as an adjective).

Using "too ~ " when they actually mean "very ~ " or "so ~ "

Use of "should" when they really should use "have to"
Use of "you'd better" when "should" is more appropriate.

[ajuma]

Ekuboko: Thanks for "My condition is not good." That one really bugs me, too! Even my advanced students say this!!

I've also been trying to get my students to use "really" instead of "very" to help them sound more natural. "It was REALLY good" as opposed to "It was VERY good". Many of my students will be studying abroad and I want them to "fit in" as much as possible. I know that "very" is correct, but how often do we actually use it??

[Ya-ta Boy]

Don't forget the ever popular 'meeting'.

"I had a meeting with my girlfriend."

It makes me wonder if she is getting a pink slip on Monday. Anyway, the use of 'meeting' instead of 'date' is one glaring mistake.

There is also a misuse of 'so' in some sentences but I've never been able to pin down what is going wrong.

[Hater Depot]

[Ekuboko]

[some waygug-in]

I don't know if this is helpful to you or not, but here goes:

There are a couple of books out there that deal with this in depth.

One is called, "Killing Konglish" - sorry, I don't know the author.

The other is called something like, " Common mistakes of Korean ESl Students" - author unknown.

I've seen both of these in the book store section with all the pop English courses.


Here's one that one of my adult students used to say,

I understand your mention.

meaning- I understand what you are saying.