Korean Job Discussion Forums

[blueatjustc]

maybe just maybe it's because languages are hard to learn, and some people no matter how hard they try are never going to be good at languages. This is not unique to koreans learning english, I know in england i would 90%+ wouldnt be able to string more than a few sentences in any language despite spending years at school learning it. Add to that, they have to also learn a whole new set of charachters which although they have a head start on is still a pretty daunting task. The only way to maybe counteract this is if you lived in a foreign country and had to practice all the time to survive.

[Juregen]

[Juregen]

[laogaiguk]

[coolsage]

While it's useful to learn some functional Korean, it has NO PLACE in the classroom. Full stop. The English class should be as much of an immersion experience as possible. Your little charges aren't going to get it anywhere else. If you starting speaking Korean with them, or translating, the battle is lost. Feel free to hone your newly-acquired Korean on the maidens that you lust after, after class. In other words, take it outside.

[Juregen]

[markhan]

[mister_joseph]

[Atassi]

Translation has different meanings in the classroom. To some, it means one sentence in English, then five more in Korean to "translate". This is often what occurs here in Korea.

Translation can also be for one or two words at a time:

Teacher: You have to practice more. Practice, practice, practice!!!
Student: Teacher, what's "practice"?
Teacher: (gestures) Doing something, again and again and again...
students may understand at this point
Teacher: What's "practice" in Korean? (seeing that they don't yet understand the word) 연습하다 (sp.?)
Students: Oh! Ahh!
Teacher: Practice, practice, practice!!!
Students: Okay!

Translating a word is okay depending on how you do it. Notice that this class did not need to revert to using their native language. This needs to be clarified when debating whether or not Korean should be outlawed in class.

Carry on...

[cbclark4]

Why is it so hard for Anglo's to learn Korean?

Is it all those extra vowel's or the lack of the "F" sound?

Maybe it's those crazy syllables?

And seriously is it an "L" sound or an "R" sound or a soft "D" sound.

cbc

[tomato]

Considering the myths which Korean English teachers subscribe to,
it's a wonder that ANY of the students ever learn English.

■ The textbook is sacred scripture.

Nothing must be added to it, nothing must be subtracted from it. If a teacher has any thoughts about bringing in any extra games, songs, or picture books, those thoughts must be suppressed immediately.

■ One cannot converse in a second language without a native speaker.

Every once in a while, a newcomer logs onto this forum and complains about Koreans using him as a free English teacher. Someone usually clasps his hands and says, "Oh, but you must understand: they seldom get to meet a native speaker! So they seldom get a chance to practice English!"

Baloney! A Korean English student is surrounded by millions of other English students. For those millions of English students to ignore each other instead of helping each other is ridiculous.

In my high school freshman French class, all of the students had classes together all day long. We spoke French in the lunch room, in the locker room, and in the hallway. We borrowed pencils, made fun of unpopular teachers, and insulted each other in French. Consequently, we learned French.

I wish all foreign language classes were like that.

■ Learning takes place in the classroom and only in the classroom.

In my first English school in Korea, another teacher taught a class using a grammar book, with the rules all written in Korean. The teacher did nothing but read to the students straight out of the book. There was no discussion, no conversation practice, no testing, no nothing.

I wondered, "Is that all they are getting for their tuition money? I would just buy the book and read it at home!"

That was before I understood Korean miseducation. According to the students, they can't learn from the book at home because they can only learn in the classroom.

Have you ever wondered what the words on a sign meant and wanted to look those words up? Don't bother. You can't learn, because you're not in a classroom.

Have you ever wanted to learn the words to a Korean song? Don't bother. You can't learn, because you're not in a classroom.

■ A student must learn now and apply later.

There is no point in an English teacher speaking English to the students except when reciting out of the book. There is no point in students speaking English to the teacher except when reciting out of the book. There is no point in students speaking English to each other except--well, there is no point in students speaking English to each other, period!

Whatever we do, we must not be hasty and presumptuous. It is not time to start applying English yet. Rather, it is time to save up vocabulary words and grammar rules. Eventually, we will save up enough to cash it all in and earn the privilege of applying all those words and rules.

Koreans tend to hold this view not only in learning English, but in learning skills in general. I have attended Japanese class in Korea, and I have never seen another student say anything in Japanese except what was required. I have attended sign language class in Korea, and I have never seen another student say anything in sign language except was required.

These myths seem to predominate not only in Korea, but all over Southeast Asia. I once attended a Korean class in which all of the other students were university students from other Southeast Asian countries. The students never spoke to each other in Korean. If two students were native speakers of different languages, that meant that they never spoke to each other at all. Furthermore, they never said anything to the teacher in Korean except what was required.

[tomato]

[DCJames]

[mithridates]

[coolsage]

Mith, thank you for not contributing to this discussion. Nonetheless, I will partially retract my original premise. At the kindy level, a grasp of Korean is useful, because, God knows, TPR can't cover the abstracts. But at the uni level, where I toil, the foundations of English should be there, however poorly taught in the past. The assumption is that the students can read English adequately (which most do; that aspect has been treated), and from there we're good to go. So we're agreed then. Korean in the classroom when they're little, no Korean in the classroom when they're big.