Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cdninkorea]

Is this happening to anyone else? I've been here about 8 months, and I find myself losing my ability to speak English.

I work in a school where I am the only foreign teacher, and no one here is fully fluent like a native speaker is. I work long days and workout at night, so I usually don't see other native speakers during the week, either.

As a result of this, I find myself struggling to remember words in conversation lately, and I look back at some of the essays I wrote in my undergrad and am unsure whether or not I could write at that level anymore.

Am I the only one?

[billybrobby]

I know exactly what you mean. That's part of the reason I started learning Korean. Once time I heard some English that was so broken that I thought, "you have literally made me dumber by saying that sentence."

[Ya-ta Boy]

I swear that listening to slowly spoken English for long periods of time makes me less able to understand movie/TV English. It's too fast.

[itaewonguy]

I find I cant talk to my friends on the phone without sounding like a retard!
even my own sister tells me! "DUDE! why are you talking like a retard!
im like ohhhh yeah! DOH!! I have had other teachers talk to me in the broken konglish tone! then im like DUDE! do I look korea?
ohh yeah DOH!!

this country will be the end of us!

[RACETRAITOR]

Probably a major problem is speaking in foreigner-English to Koreans. "I like Korea food. Food...here...very very spicy. But food here good. I like Korea food."

[nautilus]

Try reading more- it helps exercise/widen your vocabulary.
The reason my English has worsened is because i've adjusted it to a simple level that Koreans can understand.

[mindmetoo]

Three years in Korea and three years in Seattle. The other day I was watching Leno and they had a guy on from Barrie. The guy said "about" and I swore I heard him say "aboot".

[crazylemongirl]

My slang has gone, I find talking in new zealand english really hard these days. The other thing to do is write! Keep a journal of whatever... helps keep your communication skills in check!

[seoulsucker]

Sometimes I find myself "dumbing it down" for my girl, and it bugs me a bit. I agree with the reading thing. It seems to keep me sharp. Language is a tool, the more you use it/practice, the sharper it gets/stays.

I've picked up quite a bit of international english slang during my time here and it seems to have stuck with me, so in that regard I'd say my english has expanded a bit as well.

[Njord]

[cdninkorea]

[laogaiguk]

Me fail English, that unpossible!

[Moldy Rutabaga]

I lose some of my ability to understand slang or sarcasm when I visit home. I also notice that when I go back to Canada to visit, I talk with my hands too much. My friends will tease me, "Can't you just say the bar is across the street without swinging your arms?" Too much ESL.

Ken:>

[tweeterdj]

[RACETRAITOR]