Teach English in YAtAn Zhen - Anqing Shi

Problems for ESL Learners in South KoreaIn South Korea english language problem there is many. Yes, this sentence seems a bit off. However, this is how the Korean language could be directly translated into english. This differentiation in word order is just a simple introduction illustrating one of the many problems that exist in South Korea for children and adults, alike, trying to master the difficult language of english. A couple other areas that will be discussed in this article are the problems of pronunciation and of speaking. South Koreans care very much about their education. Therefore it makes sense that they are crazy about their english language education. This is good in theory; however, there is more of a focus on grammar and vocabulary than actual practical usage of the language in general conversation. Koreans are a test-taking culture. Students as young as six are starting to practice for the standardized english language tests. Therefore, the focus is more on getting good scores on these tests. Because there is a large focus on grammar and vocabulary on these tests, that is what the teachers are told to focus on when teaching. The students, as well, don?t really care about the speaking aspect of english, as they will not be tested on their speaking skills. This continues all the way to adulthood. If the Korean high school student gets a high score on his tests, he can become a student of one of the top three universities in Seoul. If the student gets into one of these universities, he will be able to get a job at one of the most prestigious companies in Seoul. Therefore, it is stressed highly from childhood that they must do well on these tests, as they predict their future. In addition, many of the english classes are taught by Koreans who have had no real practice of speaking english, but were able to ace their standardized tests in the areas of grammar and vocabulary. The students of these teachers get barely or no speaking practice at all. One example proving this is that many Korean students know the rule of conjugation where you have to add an ?s? to the third person singular verb, such as, ?She walks to school.? However, many Korean students just say ?She walk to school.? They know the grammar rule, and they also use this rule in their writing. However, due to lack of practical speaking practice in the classroom, their speaking skills lack behind all of the other skills. The lack of speaking practice also leads to a weakness in pronunciation skills for Korean students. As the Korean language is quite different from english, the pronunciation is quite different as well. In Korean, some letters simply don?t exist, such as ?f, v, z, and r.? Therefore, at first, it is really hard to master these as they feel awkward and strange to a Korean. In addition, to the Korean ear, ?r? and ?l? sound the same, so it is difficult for Koreans to remember which is which. An example of this is many Koreans saying, ?I like to eat lice.? Another difference in pronunciation that is difficult is the voiced and voiceless sounds, such as f/v, p/b, and voiced th/voiceless th. It is really hard for them to hear and pronounce the difference because these differences don?t exist in their language. The final issue that will be touched upon is the huge difference in sentence order between Korean and english. In english, we form sentences using the S-V-O order. This is where the subject comes first, then the verb, followed by the object. However the Korean language uses the S-O-V order where the verb comes after the object. The following example will clarify this. english: I want chocolate. S V O Korean: I chocolate want. S O V This makes it really difficult for first time learners who are not used to switching the order, which creates a lot of slow responses while they are trying to change the order in their head before they produce the answer with their voices. These are just a few of the problems with Korean learners trying to learn english. These problems could be improved if there was more focus placed on actual speaking. The pronunciation, as well as word order, could progress quickly if Korean students are given the opportunity to use their learned language through speaking. The Korean education system is changing, trying to focus more on speaking. Therefore more of the younger generations can speak it better than the older generations. As the saying goes, you can?t teach an old dog new tricks.