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Problems for learners in South KoreaIn recent years the country of South Korean has made learning the english language one of the major curriculum requirements and goals in their education system. This major push for learning english comes due to several reasons, one main reason is the Korean government feels that in a modern globalized world that the ability to speak english is essential to any economic gain or stability. This belief has caused the Korean government to flood the country?s schools with english speakers. Rikardo and myself jumped at the opportunity to teach in korea, for the experience and adventure, and over the course of our time in South Korea we have learned many problems and challenges learners of english and the ESL teachers face. The first problem that we noticed when it came to teaching children english was their difficultly pronouncing words with sounds and syllables that their native language does not contain. The problem with this is that many of the students will try to apply Korean language rules to english, which in many cases has humorous result. It also shows their lack of understanding the english language. One of the best ways to combat this problem we have found is through repetition of words and phrases as well as reminding the students that english does not follow the same rules as Korean. Another problem that has been noticed in the classroom is extreme competition amongst the students. The students are in a constant struggle to do better then their peers in order to be placed in better schools and education facilities. In the case of Korea this is not a benefit the students so much as it has hindered their progress of learning the language. This is because rather than truly try to understand english, the students memorize the answers and phrases need to pass the tests. The problem is that the students are not actually learning the language. If you ask many of the students a basic question they all can respond with similar responses in english. Example taken from about 2 years about: I Rikardo was shopping in one of Korea's major supermarkets, E-Mart. A group of high school students said hello and introduced themselves. I asked them, "how are you?" They all replied in unison, "I'm fine thank you and you?" It was the funniest thing I've heard since being in Korea at that time. However, once you ask them a question they have not memorized the answer to, they are completely lost and unable to communicate. One of the most effect ways to help the students over come this is to present them with topics they find relevant or interesting. By doing this, one is able to show them the importance of actually learning english and not simply memorizing certain phrases and answers. Overall there are many difficulties that arise teaching english in foreign lands, the thing to remember is teaching english takes time and patience. All native english speakers did not learn the language the moment they were born or in two years of school. The fact is we are still learning it to this day, and every ESL teacher should remember that their greatest tools in teaching english are patience and persistence. When taught correctly with care, patience, and persistence the difficulties of teaching english are minimized and the goal of learning a new language is achieved.
