Why English Is Not So Difficult for Koreans to Master

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

(This another opinion piece in The Korea Times in response for this article.)

Jon Huer's April 25 article, "Why Is English So Difficult for Koreans to Master?", is frankly quite disturbing, not because of his bleak outlook for English education in Korea, but because most of his assumptions rest on stereotypes and outright falsifications.

Let me briefly point out some of his errors and then offer my own suggestions as to why the English language has not thrived in Korea.

Huer has exaggerated the role that Korean honorifics and Korean culture play as inhibitors in learning English. While English doesn't use honorific verb endings, it is quite sophisticated in regard to showing respect in the appropriate situations.

It is not consistent in all social situations as Huer has suggested. For instance, a waiter in a nice restaurant might choose to ask, "Would you care for an appetizer, sir?" rather than, "What do you want?"

Much more troubling is that Huer is treating Western culture and Korean culture as mutually exclusive in that a child who learns some English is losing a part of his/her Koreanness as a result.

Huer's paradigm insinuates that in order to speak English properly, a Korean person must think individualistically and suppress Korean attributes such as communal belonging or filial piety. This is a dangerous oversimplification of the complex processes of language acquisition and self-identity development.

Huer also states that there is little difference between spoken English and written English. This is just not true. Consider the differences between a legal document in English and an English conversation on the bus between two close friends.

There is a world of difference, not only in the vocabulary and phraseology, but also in simple grammar choices. A good example is the use of coordinating conjunctions like "and", "or" and "but". These are used as initial words in conversations, but rarely in writing.

While this makes English writing a difficult skill to pick up, Huer's assertion that Koreans are accustomed to having a large difference between spoken Korean and written Korean, and are thus resistant to learning a language that has few differences between its spoken and written forms, is highly dubious.

Finally, Huer strikes a number of condescending notes in his article, particularly in his conclusion where he in essence mocks Korea's effort to learn English as hopeless.

He seems to believe that Korean culture is static and inflexible, and that the Korean language itself is inferior to English because it is derived from a people that prioritize emotional outbursts above logical thinking.

Huer's article has crossed the line between cultural interpretation and cultural imperialism.

Yes, Korea has generally done poorly in terms of English acquisition in the past, and yes, there are a myriad of reasons for this ― financial expenditure not being one of them.

Huer was much closer to the mark in a previous article in which he suggested that Korean children were not performing well in English because they did not see the value in it. There is a lot of truth to this.

Value is a relative term. For example, in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, TV stations that broadcast cartoons often don't have the ability to dub them into the local language, instead leaving them in English and adding subtitles.

Young children who love watching cartoons every day are well motivated to learn a lot of words and phrases. The value in language acquisition is not in preparing themselves for a future career in international business, but rather in understanding what Shrek and his donkey are talking about.

In a more sobering example, many poor kids in Southeast Asia who sell souvenirs and cold drinks to the seasonal hordes of backpackers tend to have great English for their age, albeit a very specialized English. Their motivation comes from the circumstances into which they were born.

The point is that those individuals, Korean or otherwise, who are well motivated and find sufficient value in learning another language, will do so.

There are substantial differences between the Korean and English languages, as well as between the Korean and Western cultures, but none so severe as to allow Huer to claim that the possibility of Koreans developing world-class English would be as unlikely as a rose blooming in a trash can.

Korea has had a compressed modernity in which it has consistently demonstrated its capacity for rapid change and successful adaptation.

The country is becoming increasingly interconnected with the rest of the world, and as a result, the number of ways in which regular Koreans are finding themselves motivated to learn English is also increasing. Huer might want to be more patient before passing judgment.

Andrew Calhoun is a doctoral student at the Graduate School for International Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul. He can be reached at redliondrew@yahoo.ca.

Source

Comments

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

I don't think anything Huer says should carry any weight since he said The Bible was written by god. The Korea Times should wake the hell up and fire him as a columnist.

[lalalande.livejournal.com]

Wait. You mean he is getting payed for that bullcrap is keeps on spurting out?
Dude I want that job then.

[intermezzo]

I don't know if that makes me laugh or cry!

ashiva, thanks for posting Andrews's article. He's a sensible man.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what it said on his website under the best books ever written or w.e

[hoyah.livejournal.com]

;_; he's really a columnist?

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

Like, actually written by God? Or written by God in the sense that he wrote it through real people?

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

idk but it made the top of his list

Jon Huer's own "Greatest" List:

This is the list of my favorites in art, philosophy, and social commentary. The criteria? They edify.

The greatest single book: THE BIBLE by God.

http://sensei.ad.umuc.edu/jhuer/

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

Yea I'm fairly positive he just meant God through others, which is what catholics/christians believe anyway. I don't find that strange.

[milkshake.livejournal.com]

I didn't read the other article, but this one makes sense.

Although I do think that the reason that students in Korea and Japan don't speak English well is because of the teaching system. Language really isn't something you can just learn by heart, it's something that requires to go beyond in a way...

[saanrio.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this... Huer's article was depressing and horrid.

[walnuuut.livejournal.com]

Huer's article was depressing and horrid.

HAHHAHHAHA LOL!

[hoyah.livejournal.com]

:) Another argument against Huer. I'm glad this one directly attacked his American imperialist stance.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

:D me too. it's so obvious.

[czarny.livejournal.com]

Idek what they mean with all this lol - Korea's got massive levels of International trade... there are definitely plenty of Koreans who speak more than one language!

[czarny.livejournal.com]

Oh and the Scandinavia and Netherlands thing is spot-on. I just wish they'd do that in the UK for French and German kids shows, because I think it's sad that very few people can get by well in France when it's SUCH an easy language for English speakers to learn.

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Actually the writer was a bit wrong as most of the cartoons for kids are dubbed also in Scandinavia, at least the ones that are meant for kids that can't read yet (For instance in Finland kids go to school when they are seven years old). However, at the time kids start learning English (In Finland when they are nine years old) they are already watching shows that are only subbed. So at least sound of English is familiar to them at that point and you can hear English words that you learn at school on tv all the time. idk however, how motivating that is per se what comes to English learning. I kinda suspect that more motivating factor is that most of the families here do trips to foreign countries and kids notice early on that you need English to get around.

[kellygreen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this follow-up article. Having taught English in Korea, I can tell you for a fact that Korean children who go through English language programs at school and in hagwons have an almost unbelievable grasp of the English language at a very young age. I was astounded by how quickly they learned and how proficient many of them were by as young as seven or eight years old. It is true that many Korean adults I encountered spoke little to limited English, but they weren't given the same opportunities that the younger generation is being given now. Ask any ESL teacher in Korea and they will tell you how incredible their students are, and not only because they are their teachers. I show videos to my friends back home and they are amazed by how fluently my students can speak English. Learning any additional language is difficult, especially as an older learner. But I have Korean friends who have taught themselves English simply by watching American movies and TV who speak English brilliantly. I think it was completely unfair for Huer to insinuate that Koreans are unmotivated or unable to learn the English language. I even met some cab drivers who took it upon themselves to learn a few choice phrases. My main point is that while there are some Koreans who no doubt do find it very difficult to learn to speak English, there are many who seem to have very little problem at all, and those motivated to do so, I have found, usually do quite well. More importantly, why should the average Korean be pressured to learn English at all? How many average native English speakers can speak Korean? I can tell you from my experience that the average North American has a hell of a lot more trouble learning to speak Korean than any Korean learning to speak English that I have met.

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

TV is the best way to learn english

[walnuuut.livejournal.com]

Agree!
After watching 25 episodes of BOF I now know whether they're speaking formally or casually 8D And a few phrases too.

[kellygreen.livejournal.com]

It definitely helps build a foundation! Plus it teaches slang and informal speech that wouldn't normally be taught in the classroom, but that is essential for understanding casual conversation. My friends who taught themselves to speak English by watching tv might not always use impeccable grammar, but they definitely know a lot of insults lol. I love getting 2am text messages asking, "what does douchebag mean and when can I use it?" XD

[walnuuut.livejournal.com]

More importantly, why should the average Korean be pressured to learn English at all? How many average native English speakers can speak Korean? I can tell you from my experience that the average North American has a hell of a lot more trouble learning to speak Korean than any Korean learning to speak English that I have met.

Preach it sister.

[kellygreen.livejournal.com]

:D It's true! I lived in Seoul for two years and my Korean sucks! I know kids who have been studying English for two months whose English is better than my Korean lol.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

ia ia the young kids are given so many more opportunities these days. I've seen that kids as young as 3 are going to english schools :P

[kellygreen.livejournal.com]

I had two 3 year olds in my kindergarten class. Granted, they were the daughter of the owner of the school and a friend of hers, but I have friends who have whole classes of 3 year olds. It's crazy!

[iraia.livejournal.com]

i think BOTH have they share... butreally, most of korean education for english on school isn't well structurated and relies too much on grammar and shits like that. They do that here too, so in the end no one is able to learn a shit apart from rules and so on.