Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowkr]

Hi all

I've not been on here for awhile. Just moved home after a year in Korea and now I'm teaching at a language school in California. The students are from all over the world but many are from Korea.

The funny thing is... I always thought the French were to blame for everything but in this International school.. it's the Koreans. They seem determined to dislike everyone around them and yet complain that our school has too many other Koreans and they can't learn English because of it.

They leave class and go to Taco Bell and sit with each other speaking in Korean while the other students from Europe, South America and other parts of Asia sit on the opposite side of the room. I really don't get it!

These students are nothing like the ones I met while working in the country. I defended them for a few days until I saw for myself how they were behaving. It's like they turn into totally different people when they leave Korea. I suppose it could just be this group of students but my co workers say it's been like this for years.

Any comments on this?

[okokok]

How is that different behavior than here in Korea? Seems same old, same old to me.

Similar to a package tour.

I'm pretty impressed that they'd go to a Taco Bell.

[periwinkle]

[JZer]

I love Koreans who have been to the US but never tried American food.

[billybrobby]

[jmbran11]

I came back to Korea earlier this year after working at an "international language school" in California (SF). I actually thought the Koreans who travel abroad are much more outgoing (on average) than the ones who stay in Korea. In my entire year there, I had absolutely none of the problems you are mentioning with the Korean students, excpept that they didn't immediately mix well with the Europeans - often with both sides claiming they didn't understand each other due to accents. In fact, the Korean students were so hard-working and friendly that it made me miss Korea, and I decided to come back.

Part of this definitely seems like a management issue. Students shouldn't be leaving class randomly for any reason. And, if there are "too many" Koreans in a class, it's possible that the classes should be organized differently. It's also possible that the curriculum is lacking - it's difficult to teach in a multicultural setting and still leave everyone satisfied. My school ran a fairly strict "English only" policy, which meant that they were not permitted to use Korean at the school. They were also usually assigned a roomate from a different country, which forces communication and more interaction.

However, Koreans tend to hang out together and speak Korean, because that's where they feel comfortable. I found that it really takes a lot of effort and energy to draw them out of their shell (especially the girls), but it's always worth the effort. Though they have an excellent knowlege base, they often lack the confidence of Europeans, who are more comfortable speaking. They may also resent them slightly for the same reason. You should try more small group activities in class where the Korean students are broken up and paired with the Europeans. Additionally, organize a dinner at a local Korean restaurant so some of the students can "introduce" European students to Korean food and soju.

I don't know if you are really looking for advice or just need to vent a bit, but you can pm if you want more ideas. Are you working in the Bay Area? (just curious)

[gang ah jee]

The Koreans I teach in New Zealand aren't too different from what you describe, though they do get on pretty well with the Chinese* students. Mostly they tend to stick in their groups because they're only over here for several months at a time and lack language skills, confidence and opportunity to really get to know many non-Koreans. Plus, the group control dynamics start taking over so those that do want to do something different feel like doing so would be disloyal to the group.

My Korean friends who are living here long term are completely different, however, and socialise with a wide range of people.

*I should say that the class is 40% Chinese and 40% Korean, so that's actually getting on with most of the other students. They don't actually get the opportunity to hang out with any European students since there are like four in the entire programme of six classes.

[riley]

I dunno, but I find it funny to read about Koreans in other countries only hanging out with other Koreans. I guess it's funny because I don't know many foriegners who hang out many non english speakers. (This includes myself, sad to say )

[ajgeddes]

[Junior]

[Troll_Bait]

[JeJuJitsu]

[OCOKA Dude]

[Son Deureo!]

This doesn't surprise me a bit, either. When I studied French at a small language school in France, the Koreans were probably the only students that I never seemed to have the chance to meet and hang out with. Other Europeans, Japanese students, and the Vietnamese were for the most part friendly and interested in hanging out with other people to speak French or English. The Koreans in my class barely spoke a word unless they were asked a direct question.

At the time, I couldn't tell if it was snobbishness or shyness, but they really seemed to steer clear of everyone else in the school who wasn't Korean.

To be honest, when I finally came to Korea I was surprised at how friendly and outgoing Koreans seemed to be compared with my Korean classmates in France.

[tomato]

The Korean people seem to subscribe to the following supersitions:

■ In order for a conversation in any language to take place, at least one participant must be a native speaker of that language.

I heard of an English school in Korea in which the director mandated that all conversation between the English teachers must be in English. From that point on, the Korean teachers spent their office hours in stony silence. Some of the teachers resigned for that reason.

This superstion seems to prevail not only in Korea, but in other East Asian countries as well. I once attended a Korean class in which all the other students were university students from other East Asian countries. When I arrived early for class, there was usually stony silence in the room. The silence was broken only when two students from the same country were present, or when I tried to make conversation myself.

Maybe your Korean students won't speak to the European students not because they don't want to, but because they think they can't.

■ Independence in a foreign country is not desirable.

Perhaps I should not call this a superstition, but a value.

During my first year in Korea, I bought a bus ticket from a machine. A Korean co-teacher asked me to show her the ticket to make sure that it was for the right city. Since it was easy for me to read a city name consisting of only two syllables, I found this insulting. I asked, "What if you bought a bus ticket in my country?" She said, "I would ask somebody."

I can say one thing for the Korean teacher: she was following the Golden Rule.

Koreans probably travel in packs because they regard packs as corporate individuals. If one member of the group can understand what a sign says and tell everyone else, that is as good as everyone reading the sign. If one member of the group can understand what a person says and tell everyone else, that is as good as everyone understanding that person.

Korea has been a predominantly agricultural culture throughout most of their history. Agriculture involves teamwork. So the teamwork spirit has carried over to foreign language study.

■ What is helpful in the short run cannot be harmful in the long run.

I once had a conversation with a Korean who has spent several years in my country. I expressed my pet peeve of Koreans Anglophoning me. I asked him how he would feel if people in my country spoke to him in Korean. He said, "I would appreciate the help."

■ Learning takes place only in the classroom.

Why is there an English school, a piano studio, or a karate academy on every Korean street corner? Undoubtedly because the Koreans place a high value on learning.

So why doesn't Korea have a bookstore or library on every corner? For a long time, I wondered about this.

The answer finally came when I got a new job. The director told me that I would not start work until two weeks later. He asked me what I was going to do during that time. I said, "Study Korean." He said in astonishment, "Study Korean? But there aren't any Korean classes offered anywhere in town!"

With all the materials available for studying Korean, any foreigner wishing to study Korean will feel like a vampire in a blood bank. The main problem is deciding which way to turn first. According to my new director, though, none of those alternatives are good, because I can't learn anywhere except in a classroom.

So that's why your Koreans won't speak English outside the classroom:
They're outside the classroom, so they can't learn.

■ Conversely, learning always takes place in the classroom.

In one of my former schools, one of the classes used only a book of grammatical rules written in Korean. The students came every day and listened to the teacher read straight out of the book for the whole hour.
There was no discussion, no set of examples, no conversation practice, no testing, no nothing.

I would just buy a copy of the book, stay home, and study the book at home, wouldn't you?