Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Newbie]

What the hell is happening here? You guys are joking, right?

Everyone knows Korea has to be the worst at English as a second language. Perhaps one of the top in money spent and time put towards studying English....but using it. Complete joke. Koreans, by and large, are unable to get over their national arrogance/hate of things foreign to learn another language

[Wishmaster]

Yeah, and since it must be the Korean Herald it must be true. Gee...Korean Herald heralding that the Koreans are the best. Big surprise there. The whole English teaching thing here is a fraud. They are doing it wrong but are too stupid and greedy to change things. That is why these people are so bad at the language. Now, if the KH said that Korea is leading the way in xenophobia and racism, I would definitely believe that one.

[Tokki1]

[rocklee]

If you think Korea is pretty good, try Singapore, HK or Malaysia. Although spoken with a heavy accent, they kill everybody else in the English speaking department. Taiwanese are pretty good too considering they also speak other languages.

I've had moderate success finding English speakers in Japan though the interest in speaking another language isn't as big as it is here in Korea. Coupled with a complicated language system it is understandable.

[mithridates]

[Tokki1]

[Tjames426]

China and Japan are years ahead of Korea. They have citizens who WANT to use their English and HELP the foreign traveller or resident.

China Universities, hotels, and workplaces have whole departments filled with English speaking staff whose job is to assist the foreigner.

Just consider the tourist machine in China. From the mid-1980's to the present, Chinese Univerisities have poured out Tourism majors who study 4 years of English, Japanese, German, French and other Chinese dialects. Every decent sized Chinese bank or Government office has hired English University speakers to assist and help.

[Tokki1]

I disagree with this. And I disagree with the stats. In practical travel, Korea is a far easier place for an English speaker to get around in.

I've had numerous trips to Japan and time spent in Taiwan. I was hard-pressed to find anyone who could speak English. I even had trouble communicating at tourist centers. This, of course, is in stark contrast to Korea--or Seoul, at least--where an ajoshi or ajumma on every street speaks enough to help you out.

[Rock]

I need some definite statistics. . .what you guys are all talking about could just be chance. . .I know what you mean though, as I've been to both Japan and Korea, and now reside in Taiwan. . . But had a co-worker come up to me here, said The Taiwanese can speak English better than the Koreans, right? I honeslty told her that I'd read the Koreans led the way.

But here, in Taiwan, I've felt they're actually better. Yet I live in Taipei, so once again, it could just be chance. And then again, I want to goad them on, so that they won't think too highly of themselves and make it seem their lack of generosity towards teachers here justifies their greed and indifference they have to learn English and I not have to learn Chinese.

Learning Chinese is a big affair here, and you get the feeling there's a tussle between the two.

[insam]

[tigerbluekitty]

Being a Taiwanese American having lived in both Seoul and Tokyo, I'd say in both countries the english of those working in companies are about the same. Though no matter how much I love and prefer the Japanese over Koreans for their friendliness and kind heart, I have to admit that I find that Korean english tends to be a little more natural than Japanese english.

I don't like using english here in Seoul cuz I find that the Koreans tend to be snobbish, cold (often times RUDE), and not very helpful. Whereas in Tokyo, as someone said before, just about everyone, even strangers on the street, are very kind, helpful, and want to help. THUMBS UP for the Japanese !

[rocklee]

Hi there tigerbluekitty.

I totally agree with you in that some Japanese tend to katakanise their English not because they're inherently bad at English, but that's how they learn foreign languages apparently!

"Do you like Macudonurado?"

I think you'll find that living in major cities will help your chances of finding English speaking people. Although I lived about 40 minutes from Tokyo, taxi drivers around my area could at least understand me and even engage in a conversation.

[rocklee]

[rocklee]

[SeoulShakin]

Having traveled to Japan recently (Tokyo), I was amazed at how much better their English appeared to be compared to Korea. I mentioned this to some Koreans I know (co-workers, and closer friends who would be more honest with me), and was told the following.

Koreans tend to have a better base knowledge of the English language. They can communicate and comprehend better than Chinese or Japanese people. BUT Korean's often say that they don't speak English, and try to avoid speaking English at all costs because they get self-conscious, and are afraid of losing face. So in Korea, you will encounter many Korean people who say they don't speak English, when in fact they do understand what you are saying and can communicate (had an incident with a vet that went that way - I don't speak English - I went into a wild explanation including a variation of sharades - where he proceeded to reply to me in perfect English). The difference in Tokyo, is that if you ask someone if they speak English... they won't deny it. They aren't as afraid to try to utilize the language. Even if they make a mistake, they simply say "I'm sorry, my English isn't perfect", but they continue to try.

So it's not necessarily that one is more knowledgable than the other, as much as it is that one isn't as self-conscious about using the language as the other is.

I could be wrong though.