Korean Job Discussion Forums

[willardmusa]

I'll agree that writing is the toughest and most frustrating skill to elicit from Korean students. The kinds of constructions you get! I often have to tell them, "I can understand you because I'm an TESOL teacher and I can understand just about anything students write, but if you presented this to a native professor who is not TESOL professor, they really wouldn't understand even what your main point is!"

With that said, I have to say that over the years, I have seen an ever so gradual improvement in the writing skills of Korean students. The biggest gains I have seen in the last three or four years in first year undergrad students who were among the first batch of Korean students to go through the EPIK classes that were started in, if I recall, the mid to late 90's.

I think that it's still going to take a long time before the Korean students reach the level of other Asian students I have taught ( like Malaysians, Hong Kongers, Vietnamese) in their ability to not only use English correctly and effectively, but also to express themselves in writing; but, I'm optimistic on the long term prospects.

[Roch]