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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:51 pm Post subject: Korean Children Suffer English Fatigue Syndrome |
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hehe, a new reason not to do homework I suppose.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200606/200606220020.html
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Korean Children Suffer English Fatigue Syndrome
Not so long ago, a 38-year-old mother got a call from her third-grade daughter's instructor saying, "Your child seems distracted in class, please get her to pay attention." When the mother asked her child what had happened, the child said, "I want to kill English!" and burst into tears. Not being able to understand what the foreign instructor was saying, her daughter was simply stressed out by the quick pace of the class and her poor test results.
The English education market in Korea is a US$10 billion industry, but there is also a growing number of children who -- sometimes violently -- boycott English. They suffer from what is loosely diagnosed to as "English fatigue syndrome." In a survey of 359 mothers by the Chosun Ilbo together with online early-stage English community suksuk.com, almost half or 48.7 percent of respondents reported that their children had at times taken a profound aversion to the international language of business. If even among mothers who are relatively successful getting their children to learn English the number is about half, the syndrome may be much more virulent among the silent majority.
The symptoms are multifarious. Mothers report that their child tells lies when it is time to go to class such as, "I'm sick " or "The teacher hit me." Some yell and flail their arms about in the house, take a long time to complete even easy homework tasks, or erupt in screams of "Don't speak English!"
The director of Shin's Child and Adolescent Counseling Center, Shin Chul-hee, offers an analysis, �The common denominator causing these symptoms is forced study, and excessive private study,� adding,�Children who attend schools that focus on workbooks rather than learning through play and give too much homework show the highest levels of rejection.�
In the survey, 38.9 percent of mothers described the reason behind their child's English education boycott as being due to a method demanding excessive study, while 23.4 percent identified a �dislike of English itself,� while 20 percent admitted the reason was parents� excessive expectations of their children, including comparing them with other children. |
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Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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| I have to agree that the pace of classes is ridiculous. It's not realistic to teach a class of 6-year olds at the same pace as a class of 12-year olds, with each class using the same book. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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I must admit, the students only learn about 40% of what they absolutely could within the time they have to study. Of the rest, 10% is discipline, 20% is me letting them be normal kids (within a certain boundaries ofcourse) and the last 30% is where we play games that require English, but not anything new or out of things they know extremely well.
The thing is, the children race for English class, speak English to me whenever possible, speak English when I am not around all the time, and tell me the ones who go to hagwons actually try a little harder so they can talk to me. The new students were in my classroom the next week (first week they were immensly shy ofcourse) trying in mostly Korean ofcourse to give me food or just pointing to things around the room and asking what it was in English.
I'm not a trained teacher though I will start hopefully in 2007 and get a BEd then an MEd, but I think I'd rather have them happy with English and using what they know than knowing more but hating it... |
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kiwigirl :O)
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Location: Bundang
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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it just goes to show how hard kids in asian countries work compared to their western counterparts....
i was speaking to a korean woman and i explained that in nz (and other western countries) we don't have hagwans of any type....she was shocked and incredulous at this piece of info..... 
i also said that kids dont have school on weekends and don't learn languages till the are usually in in high school...yet more shock at that comment 
its really hard for kids to take in everything we teach them...1 class once a week and one new page of grammar that doesn't always make sense is not a lot really...  |
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Sofa_King
Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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That's what happens when you wake little Jinho up at 6:30 and make him study for an hour, then get him dressed and send them to elementary school. Then after a hard day of sucking up to the teachers and being fearful of getting hit all day, little Jinho gets home, you make him change his books and get his a$s out to another private school. Then little Jinho comes home, eats, then goes to another academy. If the academy doesn't give enough homework, then mother calls to b*tch about the lack of 'learning' at the academy because little Jinho doesn't have homework. Then, little Jinho has to run to Taekwondo practice and not be late, because if he is, the Sabo will us him as a bean bag and let the other good students wail away at him.
Well no sh*t they're burnt out. When I taught at a hogwan, we were instructed to go through the book at a hellish pace, even though there was no learning done. This was because parents would complain if the entire book was not covered in 20 classes, so my hogwan, being a business, had to please their clients. Also, parents would complain if no homework was given.
Some of these kids have no time to be kids. Their schedules are backed so tight that they can't even go and play with their friends. And now they are discovering that the children are hating English? F*ck, a shrink didn't need to tell us that. |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| kiwigirl :O) wrote: |
i also said that kids dont have school on weekends and don't learn languages till the are usually in in high school...yet more shock at that comment |
I usually get the same response when I mention that we start learning French in Kindergarten in Canada (at least in some areas) |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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English education in Korea is a joke.
Hell, they let me teach!! I have no business being in a class with anyone under the age of 14. Give me a conversation class and I rock the show, all my teenagers love me and are really learning how to express themselves. But, I'd say about 50-60% of my elementary students are receiving next to no benefit from me and have no interest in a thing I say.
Hagwons are a joke, cuz as much as I suck, I'd say I've always been in the top 2 or 3 of the teachers I work with.
This country needs to wake up. |
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kiwiliz
Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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We don't have hakwons as such in NZ but many parents take their children to extra music classes, or to play sport etc. Itas just here it the extreme of pushing the kids very hard. I have seen and heard some great music played by young kids here, who alos speak english very well, but I wonder what the cost in playing and socialisation will be and will it be many years before it shows up?
what will the next generation of Koreans be like I wonder? |
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Zulu
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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I'm betting there're more than a few English teachers with 'Teaching Kids English' Fatigue Syndrome?
Last edited by Zulu on Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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xtchr
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not surprised that their website is called suksuk.com  |
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patchy1
Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Location: No, not patchy's sock. New account because old account got mucked up.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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No need for them to suffer fatigue ... Just send them the 'MIRACLE TEACHER' (aka 'cubanlord'). In the amazing short timespan of one year, your sixth grade kid, too, can be writing like THIS:
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6th Grade Girl
When a foreigners walk on streets korean people whisper some things, pointing at them, and even try to talk to them! These actions make foreigners fell that they are strange. Well, they are not animals to us. Korea is not a Xenophic Nation because we learn different languages, are excitied about foreigners, and we are not like the old days.
We learn langueges because we want to contact with outsiders. If Korea was Xenophobic Nation do you think we would learn english? If we are Xenophobic why would we learn english when we can stay together and live without foreigners. In english Acadamy, they hire foreigners to teach. Many foreign teachers say that we treat them differently. Well it is true that we treat them different because we like them. When people are close each other they can be rude and disrespectful to others.
At streets Korean do some weired things when they see foreigners. Foreigners fell very uncomfortable with these actions. Foreigners have to understand Korean because Korean people is only doin this because they want to show their English talent or feel different and they are not used to foreigners. Korean Nation don't hate foreigners, theya re trying to be in the new world.
Hundreds of years ago, Korea was attacked by many other countries, Japan, China, ......etc. Because we were one of the weakest countries, we started hate outsiders and liked pure-blood. These were the old days. Now these days, Korea try to contact with other countries because education, a new life, and technology. There is Korean people all over the place. If we dont like foreigners to cdome why are korean people go to the other country where we become a foreigner.
Many people think Korea is a Xenophobic Nation. Korea act like they don't like the outsiders because we had very bad memories that we can't forget with outsiders. Still we are trying to get use to the different wolrd where all the different people become one.
6th Grade Boy
Is Korea a Xenophobic Nation? Well, this question is kind of hard to be answered as yes or no. If it has to be, answer would be yes. In opinion of mine, Koreans are in the situation between these, but more close to xenophobic. They are kind of afriad and don't like foreigners to be in their country. However, at the same time, there are fe Koerans who like foreigners and are interested in them. Now, because of these Koreans who don't like foreigners, many foreigners are getting mad about Koreans.
In one of the education center called yung-uh-maul (English Village), there was an incident that one of the teachers in that academy had touched the kinds in improper way. With this incident, KTU (Korean Teachers & Educational Worker's Union) is saying that this happened because of the foreigner teachers because they were drunk and did improer thing. However, people who really did this bad thing were two Korean teachers, who were teaching in English Village. Even though these were figured out, KTU are blaming foreigners for this criminal. Well, if these were really happened from foreigners, it would've been really a big thing to argue about.
Another reason that Koreans are xenophobic is basically because of what government is planning. They are planning that in 2010, every subject should be taught from foreigners. This is bad and good at a same time. It's bad because not many Kroeans can learn Korean that properly as we did right now. The good thing is that they can give us more good education than what Koreans can do. Some of the things what Korean teachers tell you are bunch of craps that you don't have to listen to. Some of the things that korean teachers tell you can't be called education sometimes. All they tell you is, "hate Japan, they are bunch of criminals. Dokdo is our land. You must fight for it." Well, they are not really teaching how to think, but just react without thinking. Just like Hitler who knew to control and control people. That's how he controlled all the Germans and every leaders do know how to think and know that some of the peopel are stupid. That's how they make people only feel and get fear from it and just react. Koreans are kind of afraid of foreigners will take a job away from them.
Thirdly, Koeran think "pure blood" is very important thing. Even though Koreans say, "pure blood is very important", they don't ask them a question "why?" That's what we call "you have an answer, but not the question". Just naturally, we have learnt like that. As we have learnt that Dokdo is are land, strongly, we also have heard that pure blood is very important. Howver, did we learn why it is important, and whit is it our land? All they did was forcing us to believe the facts they give us, and feel it with just reacting it without thinking.
As a conclusion, I think Koreans are kind of xenophobic nation because they blame all the bad things to foreigners, afraid of foreigners who are smarter than them and taking their job away, and they think pure blood is very important thing. |
<sing> Hallelujah!!!!! </sing> |
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I_Am_Wrong
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: whatever
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| kiwigirl :O) wrote: |
it just goes to show how hard kids in asian countries work compared to their western counterparts....
i was speaking to a korean woman and i explained that in nz (and other western countries) we don't have hagwans of any type....she was shocked and incredulous at this piece of info.....
i also said that kids dont have school on weekends and don't learn languages till the are usually in in high school...yet more shock at that comment
its really hard for kids to take in everything we teach them...1 class once a week and one new page of grammar that doesn't always make sense is not a lot really... |
I can't stand when people use extreme examples about either Asian countries or Western countries and then make blanket statements for the whole.
I started Russian immersion in kindergarten and studied Russian through to grade 11. I also had 3 years of French during my schooling. In High School I took extra math classes after school and took extra history as well. I played basketball and had to practice everyday. I also took guitar lessons at night. In Elementary school I took piano lesson, drum lessons
after school and also practiced basketball. Middle School was slack.
Sure, some korean students get pushed TOO hard but not all and probably not even the majority. I don't think it's a big deal. I'd rather have middle school and high school kids working their asses off towards school then smoking pot and going to bush parties on the weekend. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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One of the (many) reasons I felt I needed to stop working in kiddie hogwons was that I felt like I was participating in a form of child abuse. The lives of my poor elementary school kids seemed so stressful and joyless because of the extreme workload their parents were pressuring them to take on. It didn't seem like these kids were exactly turning into miniature Einsteins for it either, so the futility of the whole situation made the whole thing seem even worse.
Hey, teacher! Leave those kids alone! |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| patchy1 wrote: |
No need for them to suffer fatigue ... Just send them the 'MIRACLE TEACHER' (aka 'cubanlord'). In the amazing short timespan of one year, your sixth grade kid, too, can be writing like THIS:
| Quote: |
6th Grade Girl
When a foreigners walk on streets korean people whisper some things, pointing at them, and even try to talk to them! These actions make foreigners fell that they are strange. Well, they are not animals to us. Korea is not a Xenophic Nation because we learn different languages, are excitied about foreigners, and we are not like the old days.
We learn langueges because we want to contact with outsiders. If Korea was Xenophobic Nation do you think we would learn english? If we are Xenophobic why would we learn english when we can stay together and live without foreigners. In english Acadamy, they hire foreigners to teach. Many foreign teachers say that we treat them differently. Well it is true that we treat them different because we like them. When people are close each other they can be rude and disrespectful to others.
At streets Korean do some weired things when they see foreigners. Foreigners fell very uncomfortable with these actions. Foreigners have to understand Korean because Korean people is only doin this because they want to show their English talent or feel different and they are not used to foreigners. Korean Nation don't hate foreigners, theya re trying to be in the new world.
Hundreds of years ago, Korea was attacked by many other countries, Japan, China, ......etc. Because we were one of the weakest countries, we started hate outsiders and liked pure-blood. These were the old days. Now these days, Korea try to contact with other countries because education, a new life, and technology. There is Korean people all over the place. If we dont like foreigners to cdome why are korean people go to the other country where we become a foreigner.
Many people think Korea is a Xenophobic Nation. Korea act like they don't like the outsiders because we had very bad memories that we can't forget with outsiders. Still we are trying to get use to the different wolrd where all the different people become one.
6th Grade Boy
Is Korea a Xenophobic Nation? Well, this question is kind of hard to be answered as yes or no. If it has to be, answer would be yes. In opinion of mine, Koreans are in the situation between these, but more close to xenophobic. They are kind of afriad and don't like foreigners to be in their country. However, at the same time, there are fe Koerans who like foreigners and are interested in them. Now, because of these Koreans who don't like foreigners, many foreigners are getting mad about Koreans.
In one of the education center called yung-uh-maul (English Village), there was an incident that one of the teachers in that academy had touched the kinds in improper way. With this incident, KTU (Korean Teachers & Educational Worker's Union) is saying that this happened because of the foreigner teachers because they were drunk and did improer thing. However, people who really did this bad thing were two Korean teachers, who were teaching in English Village. Even though these were figured out, KTU are blaming foreigners for this criminal. Well, if these were really happened from foreigners, it would've been really a big thing to argue about.
Another reason that Koreans are xenophobic is basically because of what government is planning. They are planning that in 2010, every subject should be taught from foreigners. This is bad and good at a same time. It's bad because not many Kroeans can learn Korean that properly as we did right now. The good thing is that they can give us more good education than what Koreans can do. Some of the things what Korean teachers tell you are bunch of craps that you don't have to listen to. Some of the things that korean teachers tell you can't be called education sometimes. All they tell you is, "hate Japan, they are bunch of criminals. Dokdo is our land. You must fight for it." Well, they are not really teaching how to think, but just react without thinking. Just like Hitler who knew to control and control people. That's how he controlled all the Germans and every leaders do know how to think and know that some of the peopel are stupid. That's how they make people only feel and get fear from it and just react. Koreans are kind of afraid of foreigners will take a job away from them.
Thirdly, Koeran think "pure blood" is very important thing. Even though Koreans say, "pure blood is very important", they don't ask them a question "why?" That's what we call "you have an answer, but not the question". Just naturally, we have learnt like that. As we have learnt that Dokdo is are land, strongly, we also have heard that pure blood is very important. Howver, did we learn why it is important, and whit is it our land? All they did was forcing us to believe the facts they give us, and feel it with just reacting it without thinking.
As a conclusion, I think Koreans are kind of xenophobic nation because they blame all the bad things to foreigners, afraid of foreigners who are smarter than them and taking their job away, and they think pure blood is very important thing. |
<sing> Hallelujah!!!!! </sing> |
Patchy1, there is no need to be so jealous of me (although thank you for complimenting me) that you hijack everyone's thread. It has become apparent that I have obviously struck a nerve with you. Please leave everyone alone as no one cares about you anymore. Your useless antics in gaining attention have failed miserably. I would like to recommend you to The Bible so that you may find peace and solace within yourself. Then maybe a miracle will happen where that one morning you will wake up and realize that even though people of all nations reject you, The Lord will not. I pray that you do find peace.
P.S. If you need help with your writing, I will be more than happy to meet up with you and review your mistakes with you. Take care. |
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flotsam
Joined: 28 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:31 am Post subject: |
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You can see this carry over into the schools as well: not so much the fatigue, but the resentment. Especially at middle school age(even more especially among the nasty little rich boys), the kids from the wealthier families who go to hakowns try to dominate the classes. This either terrifies the other students or pisses them off. It didn't take me long to get across to little Bundang Min-Su that if he yells, "Teacher this is boooooring. She's too slow and stupid. I want a gaaaaaaaaame!" while I am trying to get little Seongnam Ji-Hye to give me directions to the store, he is in for a world of trouble. I now have a pretty good balance in my classes, just a few reticent little guys and girls, but it does have a huge impact on the classroom environment.
And: Oh, yeah...
| Newbie wrote: |
Hagwons are a joke, cuz as much as I suck, I'd say I've always been in the top 2 or 3 of the teachers I work with.
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So, you're basically saying that on a curve of suckarse teachers, you're the hump. Takes guts. |
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