Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Benbby]

While teaching ESL in Canada I have heard students call Canada an English country. The correct term is supposed to be English speaking country. Canadians are native English speakers which would make Canada an English country. But how English? An English country in the way India is not, but like India because it too is an English speaking country. I think this is how many Koreans see not just Canada but the US and Australia also.

This works with Chinese it seems as Taiwan is sometimes called Chinese Taipei because they are Chinese and speak Chinese. People often stress "Mainland" China for political reasons, like there is another China, called Taiwan. But to most of us, China means China, the huge country, no qualifier is required.

Asians seem to consider the colonies of Britain very English. When I go to Korea I shall have to find out more about this.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Newbie]

And to a good many of Koreans, especially the older ones, we are ALL AMERICAN. There is no England, Canada etc.

Heck, ask all the kids in a Korean class where English come from and most of them will say USA

[coolsage]

Yes, Korean students are so well-informed about the world that exists beyond this peninsula. Oh, and (a Canadian should know this) about 25% of Canadians have French as their first language.

[Smee]

Yeah, but Korea has four distinct seasons.

[Hater Depot]

It's so amazing to blow someone's mind just by telling them that other countries have four seasons.

Personally I am waiting for it to be discovered that Korea actually has a fifth season not found anywhere else.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Benbby]

Even Hong Kong is considered another China in the media, I read this in the Vancouver Sun newspaper this morning. So we have three Chinas with Chinese people.

What nations and people know is their perception, if it is incomplete, that is valid and very interesting. It is a story. ESL is education and both will go on forever so we can continually explain this. Perfect in an insular country like Korea. A Korean student told me yesterday that Koreans score very low in international English tests.

That's the first I heard Koreans think all English speaking people come from the USA. In Canada, Koreans seem quite aware of England.

[red headed stranger]

[red headed stranger]