Teach English in Xianyi Zhen - Chongqing

Problems for learners in korea Learning a new language in general is a difficult thing to do. There are problems that arise when teaching a new language as well as when learning a new language. There are various known problems when teaching English in an Asian country, more specifically, when teaching in korea. These problems include but are not limited to: vocabulary, grammar, writing, speaking, cultural differences, etc. The cause of many difficulties for korean students is the fact that English belongs to the Indo- European Language Group and korean is similar to the Ural-Altaic Language Family (Cho, 2). When it comes to English vocabulary, koreans tend to add unnecessary words to descriptions. For example ?Her height is short? as opposed to ?She is short?. They may also confuse ?put on? and ?wear? when speaking about clothing. In korean, there are many words for ?wear? so students tend to avoid it. students may also confuse ?have? and ?catch? when used in sentences like ?I have a cold?. Learners in korea seem to have more trouble with the future tense than the past tense. Alex Case only notes one concern when it came to the past tense: Having a hard time with Past Perfect to express the distant past (instead of comparing two past times). For an example of a future tense problem that arises, is knowing the difference between ?have a plan to? and for ?be planning to?. Learners can also have a difficult time writing in English. Problems can occur with punctuation use and when writing emails. Often, when using linking words, students capitalize after commas. For example, ?However, They went to the movies.? Sometimes students also begin sentences with words such as ?and? and ?but? which is actually informal. When speaking English, korean students tend to sound monotonous due to the lack of stresses in the korean language. korean students also have trouble pronouncing and listening for the letters l and r because in korean, there is only one sound for them. There are many cultural differences that can make it difficult for korean students to learn English. One being the intense amount of pressure parents put on their children to be successful in school. Having lived in china for most of her life, Chen stated the differences in parenting between the united states and Asia. Sometimes parents can put too much pressure on their children by overloading them with extracurricular activities and tutoring lessons. Due to the teaching style in korea, students may have developed a timid, shy, defensive, and passive attitude. This can lead to problems between the student and teacher because the student appears to be unengaged, when really they were taught to act in such a way. korean students are trained to express themselves indirectly so they do not offend others (Cho, 4). Thus, leaving students with a reserved attitude. Overall, there are many obstacles that can get in the way of korean students ability to learn English. Learning a new language in general is a difficult task but it can be done. There may always be a lack of the native speaker intuition and that can be hard to accept. The best thing to do is become aware of the differences and use that knowledge as a tool when teaching. References: Case, Alex. Typical Problems for korean learners of English. www.tefl.net/alexcase/teach-abroad/asia/korea/typical-korean-problems Chen, Anna. Personal interview, November 23, 2011. Cho, Byung-Eun. Issues Concerning korean Learners of English: English education in korea and Some Common Difficulties of korean students. The East Asian Learner Vol. 1, November 2004.