Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Been There, Taught That]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070406/wl_asia_afp/skoreaeducation_070406145651

Does the president's new desperate attempt to Englishize Korea sound to you like the tide will turn anytime soon for the eager waeguk ihn who wants to teach English in Korea?

I was a teacher 2001 to 2003 in Kuri, Ilsan and Taejeon and was told even then that the need for foreign English 'teachers' was on the decline. Turns out I don't know about that, but foreigners serving as models for the way westerners do it and pronounce it under the guise of English education specialists or whatever you prefer to call them is not.

I'm curious to know whether, among parents who only want the best for their children, the same emphasis is being placed on getting the western accent down, no matter the trick nor the cost. Personally, I never knew any kids with any western swing to their voices, and it always seemed they weren't trying to have any, either. They just liked to have fun with their friends after school at the Hagwon, and I just flowed with the flow and enjoyed my time, as well.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

In over two years of living here I still haven't made it to Jeju-do, but I'm definitely going to have to go after they create their 9,000 person English village. If I thought the one in Paju was hilarious I'm sure I won't be disappointed by this one. In order to have a 20:1 student-teacher ratio they'll have to hire 450 foreigners. I just can't wait to see whom they'll get. Surely it won't be anyone who already has experience in Korea. It should be one of the greatest white elephants in modern history.

[Been There, Taught That]

I'm going to add that, rereading this article, I get the feeling that the president is trying to rein in some manner of exodus to English-speaking countries that is going on in a more-roundabout way than simply banning Koreans from leaving the country. That wouldn't look right, I guess, but this will somehow work for that purpose.

[bosintang]

I find it hilarious that they have to take 9,000 people and stick them out on the middle of some god forsaken island with young, dumb, and horny college grads. What? Do they think the 9,000 students are just going to switch to English because it's not their hometown? Or do they think that Koreans would rather spend a year in Jeju's version of Alcatraz rather than a year in Auckland, Vancouver, or San Francisco? And where are they going to find teachers who want to work in this place? They aren't even close to reaching their quota for the current public school positions !!

They seriously can't be that stupid. This whole scheme just oozes of corruption and ulterior motives.

I'm reminded of Alex Kerr's book "Dogs and Demons", a book about Japan but perhaps more suited for Korea.

It's easy to make big showy projects and come up with big grand ideas. However, it's a lot harder to think about the subtle details and benchmarks needed that make or break these kind of projects, so they don't bother. They just throw lots of money at them without any kind of brakes or steering mechanism. When these projects fail, and they inevitably do, they just come up with even bigger and grander projects.

[Ya-ta Boy]

The paper has been filled for the last week with articles about Roh supporting English study. I guess when nearly every policy issue of your administration has flopped big time and you are hovering down around 10% in the polls, it might occur to you to jump on a bandwagon and try to lead from behind. Nothing else has worked. Maybe this will. (The best politicl observation EVER in any country: Bush is more popular in France than Roh is in his own country.)

[supernaut]

Actually i'm familiar with a French university that has a French immersion progran year round, but in the spring and summer they have 2 five week programs.

It's total immersion, they get caught speaking english (or any language but French 3 times and they get booted out. It's fairly expensive as well, and you don't get your money back if you get kicked out. Sone are total beginners, iv'e seen adults cry on the first and second night because they just can't communicate, but if the survive the initial shock, they usually just learn quickly in that fun atmosphere.

I'd say that the average before these people are totally fluent in french is less then 2 years, sone can even do it in 10 weeks if dedicated and French is a hard language. It's a great atmosphere with classes during the week, some theme night at the bar every night (all french music) and some special events often.

If this English village is run well with a solid program, some teacher and even just "babysitters" or "camp counsellors", expensive, a totally English atmosphere with a 3 strikes out system, it could really do wonders for the level of English in this country.

I know im arguing against the way i plan on making money, but if people really want to know how to learn a new language, they should check out the French Immersion program at Ste. Anne's. Total immersion in the language is the key.

[bosintang]

[Novernae]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[JeJuJitsu]

[Been There, Taught That]

I was thinking that it sure puts the president in a position of looking like he's doing something to get Koreans into the globalized world, and what better way than re-emphasizing the glories of learning English. Image through effort seems to be the motto in this circumstance. And can anyone but Koreans truly be sincere in announcing, to paraphrase, that English is the key to darkening the doorstep of the civilized world?

Anyway, I agree that this English Village doesn't sound like it's shaping up to be as ultra-intensive as a true immersion atmosphere might be. How can it be? who's going to send away their meal ticket? That's one big difference here, it seems. English learners are a business proposition.

Maybe this thing will make an image-padding stab at being total immersion, but from all we know, will the kids be up to that? Remember that Korea is going for blanket coverage, not just training those who want to learn. Even the 'bad apple' students, even those who may not want to learn English at all, will nevertheless get their chance to be there.

Let's hope English Village doesn't turn into English Sideshow.

[Pak Yu Man]

[bdbarnett1]

[bosintang]