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Why Indians speak better English than Koreans

These days Teaching English in South Korea is considered one of the hottest jobs as compared to other Asian countries like China, Japan etc.  The government is spending a lot of money in recruiting native speakers and making this nation very affluent in English. English is taught predominantly by native speakers. And most of the public as well as private institutions prefer English Teacher from native speaking countries like US, UK, Australia, New Zealand etc. Koreans spend a lot of money in learning English. But still you wont find many Koreans who could speak English fluently.

The other day I met this girl in a parade who had stayed in New Zealand for like 2 yrs for studying English but she was not very confident about her English Speaking skills. Trust me she spoke good English but she was not very fluent. I strongly feel that as compared to her (and other Koreans) we Indians speak better and fluent English that too, without staying in any native English Speaking country.

I meet Koreans who have spent years in countries like Australia, America etc.  yet they pause while speaking because they are forming sentences in their mind. It is very common in Korea to find people who have spent life abroad just to be surrounded in an English Speaking environment so that they get more exposure to the English speaking crowd and that helps them improve their command over English Language. But they still stammer in English.

I have also met Korean families where the kids with their mom live and study in a native English speaking country and the dad would work in Korea and send money to support the kids education abroad. All this only for the sake of English.

So the first question which comes to my mind is that why is it that these Koreans who after having so much of an exposure to the foreigners and after having traveled so much still struggle when it comes to speaking English where as we Indians with very less exposure to foreigners and with no native speaking teachers to teach us speak much better English than Koreans.

And the answer is obvious for any Indian who is staying in Korea. Media and Education. Both play a very important role in our English education and we will look at them one by one.

  • Mostly 70-80% of the schools and colleges in urban India and almost 50% of the schools in rural India teach subjects in English, except for languages. Which is not very common in Korea. Most of the Koreans I have met study their subjects in Korean and study English only as a language subject in schools and colleges.
  • In India mostly 70% of the nation reads the newspaper in English. And there are so many of them to chose from. You visit any random newspaper vendor in India and you would find that the count of English magazines and newspaper surpassing their local counterparts. Koreans also have newspaper in English but they are mostly targeted to the expat community. 99% of the Koreans would prefer to read newspaper and magazines in Korean. Only if the media stops or limits the printing of newspaper and magazines in Korean will they do some good for the people of their own country.
  • One thing I like about Indian Movie channels is that they display English movie with English subtitles. So it becomes easier for us to enjoy the movie and not get lost in the accent. Apart from that most of the Indian music channels as well as radio stations have VJ/RJ who host the shows in English. The youth in India is well fed on English media, where as in Korea you walk in to any cinema for watching English movies and you will find it with Korean Subtitles. Which I do not blame keeping in mind the current circumstances else people will stop watching English movies. And if at all the DJ/RJ will start hosting their shows in English then they will lose their fan following soon.
  • Now this is an extremely important step to do if the Korean government wants to help the upcoming generation with their usage of English. It should stop translating academic books as well as fiction in Korean. Walk into any bookstore in Korea and you will find books and books in Korean. Even the bestsellers like Harry Potter, Twilight etc are translated in Korean. In any normal Korean book shop only around 20-30% of the section is allocated to English books. Whereas in India if one walks into any bookstore like landmark or crossword, one will find books in English only. Bookshops in India cater to all kinds of readers from technical to academic to fiction to non-fiction to self-help books (but in English).

It is all about the exposure and the right exposure for that matter. No matter how many native speaking teachers you recruit. No matter how many countries you visit or work or stay. No matter how many private tuitions you do. No matter how many English songs you listen to. No matter how many foreign friends you hang out with. No matter how many English Movies or Sitcoms you watch (with Korean subtitles) you will improve you English only if you READ. Read as much as you can in English dedicatedly. Read books, read newspaper, read articles, read blogs, read magazines, read manuals, read anything and  everything you can put your hands on. The more you read in English the more it will stay with you in your mind and will come automatically to you when you are talking or writing.

Yes I do agree that watching English movies and sitcom,  having foreign friends and other things do help. But not as much as READING. Why do you think we Indians can speak better English than Korean? Because, we are forced to read. There are many schools in India where teaching happens in local language but in Colleges the subjects are taught only in English. So it is mandatory for us to read and write in English. The only way I improved my English was by joining a library during my vacation. I used to read and read a lot in English. And Korean as I see is a nation of very good readers. People in Korea love reading. So henceforth if you have to chose a book for reading make sure it is printed in English.

Most of the English Movie DVD’s available in the market come with English Subtitles for people with hearing disability. Knowing English but not understanding the accent and pronounciation can also be considered as a disability. So next time when you are watching movies, make sure that you watch it with English subtitles and not Korean Subtitles. These subtitles are like floats to help you swim. Once you can swim on your own then you will discover many new oceans to conquer in English.

On a side note, since Korea itself is not a native English speaking country it should look at the learning strategies adopted by other developing and non-native countries like India, Philippines, Malaysia (as mentioned by Joseph Dart) and incorporate their best practices in its education system, rather than just recruiting native speakers as teachers. Given an opportunity, any certified teacher for whom English is a second language would be in a better position to teach from his / her experience of learning English. And for native speakers TESOL or TEFL does a good job in teaching them the difficulties faced by non-natives while learning English or any other language. So if someone takes out time to get certified as a TESOL or TEFL certified teacher, it shows his / her commitment towards teaching English to non-native speakers. Having said that Korean Government should also give equal weightage to both native speakers as well as qualified/certified teachers from India and Philippines.

Thanks for your time.
Brijesh Bolar


남해 Namhae

12 Dec 2009, Wanting to enjoy the cool autumn weather, I head to 남해대교 Namhae Big Bridge in 한려해상국립공원 Hallyeo Marine National Park and spend my evening walking along the river in 진주 Jinju.

Rambling on May 18th

It's Tuesday morning and raining plenty, but I don't really mind, because the weather has been nice of late and I'm from the Pacific Northwest, where it does this for nine months out of the year. Nine months - like some kind of shitty weather gestation period - after which the region gives birth to several months of sunshine. Makes life worth living.

COMIN' TO 'MURIKA

Operation "Tharp Temporarily Returns to America" is right on schedule. I'll be back for at least four weeks, but most likely five. It depends how fussy the airline is about me changing my return date, which is usually doable depending on availabiliy and how much flesh they plan to demand for the favor. I'll be arriving in Seattle on Thursday, June 17th. I'm actually cheating and leaving Korea a couple days earlier than I'm really supposed to, but I'll be done with all by that point and would like to arrive before the weekend. I haven't been home during the summer in about three years now and am well overdue. Last summer I spent a month exploring the steamy undercarriage of China's Yunan Province and Northern Laos. The one before saw me crossing China by train, all the way to Kashgar, Tashkurgan and Yarkand - the dusty Muslim heart of Donkeyland. This year I'm craving something decidely less exotic: Old friends, family, fishing, Dungeoness crab, fresh air, and a massive selection of beer at the supermarket. "Shall I have some Boddington's - no, Tecate - screw that - Sierra Nevada sounds good - but look at Rainier! The price is just too good to pass up."

Like a kid in a candy store, I tell ya.

HAPPENINGS IN "THE SPECIAL K"

Life in Korea has been pure madness. This year seems to have outstripped them all as far as concentration of activity. I'm approaching SIX years on this rocky outcropping and still going strong. Weekends are packed with band gigs, comedy shows, dinner parties, motorcycle rallies, hiking engagements, and these days, weddings. I went to one last Sunday and got another this Saturday - with a rock gig later that night. I've gotten a decent amount of writing done this year. Several articles got published, I even maDE a smattering of cash - but my output needs to increase. There is one big project that looms over all. I've made great headway but it's time to pick up steam. A large deadline approaches, slapping a billy club in its fat paw.

YOU AND ME COULD WRITE A BAD ROMANCE

Girl-wise things are good and strange and... L and I broke up with a fight of atomic proportions during a group trip to Jirisan last October, but it took until recently to properly slice away the binds. It's been tough: you spend three years with someone and feelings are deep; this doesn't easily evaporate. And the more time you spend apart, the more you only remember the nice things, the happy things, the things that didn't make you scream at each other; the things that didn't make her cry or go throught your email; the things that didn't make you spit poison at each other. Sigh.

For the last couple of months I've had J, a beautiful visitor from a far-flung kingdom who I actually met four years ago here in Korea. She came back to see me, and is still here. Again, things have not been perfect with us; I'm a grumpy bastard and not terribly giving of my feelings, especially early in the week for some reason. I'm not used to LIVING with someone in my small environs. Hell, my cats piss me off on a regular basis, just imagine what a really clingy girl can do? But she's been terrific really, and a hell of a lot of fun, so we're seeing this out until her departure in June, back to the land of searing sauces, vice, and recent social upheaval. Who knows, I may even go visit HER next time.

THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN! THE CHILDREN!!!

In other news, my recent piece, "10 Things In Korea I'll Never, Ever Do" caused a bit of a shitstorm on facebook, where it was imported. Some friends of mine took extreme umbrage with the fact that I poke fun at orphans. Evidently orphans are some kind of third rail of comedy. Who knew?

I was sitting at The Crown with Sam after the piece when up, and we kept checking in with the responses. When one of my buddies went ballistic, Sam and I crafted this answer:

"Just realize this XXXX: When I was nine years old, I was raped by a band of roving orphans."

All that I will say is that my sense of humor is my own. I write pieces like that because they make ME laugh. I'm surely not gettin' paid for it. When other folks dig it, that's just gravy. ...the idea of someone hating on orphans just tickled me. That anyone could possibly take me seriously truly boggles my mind, but hey, people choose to believe all sorts of silly, silly things.

This is about all, I suppose, if you don't count that fact that today is the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, a big even in any NW kid's life. Wow. I just realized that now. I am truly gettin' old.

Destination: Lotus Lantern Festival (2010) - part 2



As promised, the Lotus Lantern Festival Parade - part one of the festival is here if you missed it. The Lady in Red and I found some seats on an underground market entrance; unless you're in the front row you'll need to be above the standing crowd.



The first thing to be aware of is the enormity of the crowd - you're competing not only with locals, but with the sizable foreigner crowd as well. The second thing to be aware of is the huge number of parade walkers - although the most interesting exhibits are often the lanterns, watching legions of monks, nuns, and so on reminds you of how large this parade really is.



Buddha on a throne.



More than a few white elephants made an appearance, courtesy of different temples. In case you weren't a Buddhist Studies major, a white elephant is a symbol of mental strength and have the power to produce rain. See this academic work for plenty more.



FIRE! From a peacock?



Shiny.







Here there be dragons! From one Buddhist website:
Dragons are shape shifters, able to transform at will, from as small as the silkworm to a giant that fills the entire sky. Dragons are depicted in one of two colors, green or brown. The green, or azure dragon of Buddhism ascends into the sky at the spring equinox; it represents the light's increasing power in springtime and the easterly direction of the sunrise. The brown dragon is the autumn equinox, when it descends into a deep pool, encasing itself in mud until the next spring, but its spirit is still with the practitioner bringing wealth and health. The pearls, or jewels clutched in the claws of the dragon represent wisdom and health. The dragon can control the weather by squeezing the jewels to produce dew, rain or even downpours when clutched tightly. The dragon is the vehicle of Vairochana, the white Buddha of the center or the east.


Nothing like cartoon characters and the baby Buddha on the same float.



It takes quite a few people to pull some floats. Note the graceful dancer on the lotus flower.




It's kind of a shame that the 'big belly Buddha' is one of those images a lot of people get when they think of the Buddha.

After an hour and a half of lanterns and endless thousands of people walking down the street, the parade ended and the closing ceremony began. That was our cue to head for the subway. Along the way, we ran into Roboseyo and ZenKimchi, who were also enjoying the parade elsewhere along the route. We meandered down towards Tapgol Park, where a number of lanterns lit up the darkened park:


My dear readers, this parade is highly recommended as one of the few events Seoul puts on that's worth attending year after year. The afternoon festival is nice, if increasingly touristy, but the parade continues to shine.

Ratings for the event (out of 5 taeguks):


Ease to arrive:


Foreigner-friendly:


Convenience facilities:


Worth the visit:

Creative Commons License © Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.


 

Coffee break

I will never tire of people-watching on the porch of a coffee shop.  Short list of Korean commonalities that make me giggle:

1.  Very drunk business men stumbling down the sidewalk hand in hand bantering passionately about God-knows-what.

2.  So many young couples walking around in matching outfits you would think it’s Sadie Hawkins. 

3.  High, high heels with short, short shorts.

4.  Men and women alike constantly pulling out mini vanity mirrors to ensure they still look flawless.

5. The eruption of umbrellas at the slightest indication of rain.

All these things I used to find insanely bizarre are starting to become quite endearing.  Although it angers and frusturates me when overhearing “way-gook” (which is a less than congenial term for ‘foreigner’) among some locals when entering a store or restaurant, there are those who will make a point to come up to say “Hi” in the street, or go out of their way (sometimes very far out of their way) to try to help you out.  These simple gestures of kindness, consideration, and curiousity more than make up for those of the ‘we hate foreigners’ persuasion.

I am waking up early tomorrow to trek to the PNU area for my first Korean class; excited to finally start learning other words besides “ne” (yes), “anniyo” (no), “kamsahmnida” (thank you), “yeogi” (here, taxi), and “muliao!” (I don’t know!).  Also trying to learn “Kai, Bai, Bo”, which is the Korean version of Rock, Paper, Scissors with slightly different rules.  (Honestly, “trying to learn” and “Kai, Bai, Bo” are two phrases that should really never be used in the same sentence, but it seems the only opportunities to learn are posed in the middle of the night after a few too many rounds of soju…)  Once I learn this my kids might think I’m cool.  Although I did win my boys over today during our ”What did you do over the weekend” conversation at the beginning of class.  They always answer with “play computer games”, but this time I got a bit more detail – “play GTA.” 

 Me: “Grand Theft Auto?”  Boys: “Brittany Teacher! You know Grand Theft Auto?!?” 

I won some major brownie points with that one.  :)


Failing to Find Geumjeong Mountain Performing Arts Festival...

Usually I'm the over-prepared one of the group. Travel buddies groan at my detailed itineraries.  Classmates used to beg me for my color-coded notes.  Organization just helps me feel calm, especially since I get distracted so easily (remember when I sprained my ankle because I got distracted by something shiny?) There was a festival on Geumjeong Mountain yesterday that I thought would be oh so easy to find if I showed up in the general area.

Fail. FAIL. I never found it. I hadn't even written down the name of it (which obviously I couldn't remember) so I could properly ask someone where it was.  However, I did manage to have a wonderful time wandering around. Normally I don't mind being lost in Korea. But I was trying to show some newly arrived people a good time and felt like I utterly failed. I mean they had good picture opportunities but a festival would have been the perfect way to kick start a trip in Korea.

I started off back at Beomeo Temple...which was completely wrong though i wasn't the only person looking for the festival from there. 
All of those papers hanging down are wishes/prayers/hopes.  So beautiful...and yet buying one is not QUITE as spiffy as making your own lantern. Just saying.

I finally made it to the right part of Busan...but I was about 4 kilometers from where I need to be. Look at the people passing by....decked out in hiking gear. The trail was easy enough to comfortably manage in my Birkenstocks for several kilometers. Oh well, this gate thingy that I found was pretty cool.

After walking a few more kilometers in the wrong direction we decided to wander back to Busan Station where the lantern festival thingy was supposed to end at 8 with a concert. The concert was...interesting but I didn't see any festival related to it. Maybe the lantern lights were it? Not terribly exciting.

My favorite part of the day: randomly discovering a public hot springs foot spa outdoors on the way from Geumjeong mountain to Oncheondong Station.
 This is what normal people do at a hot springs bath after hiking around.
This is what I do. Got all of the Koreans laughing and smiling though. Oh the crazy foreigners. I did manage to sit still and enjoy the hot water though. Which was ridiculously hot. Look at how red my feet got after 5 minutes!
My skin is normally not the same color as my nail polish.
I love Korea. Where else in the world do you randomly find hot spring foot baths?

The Choir

The day after the French Comedy I found myself at the Geumjeong Cultural Center ('금정문화회관') in Busan - I believe that around half the districts in the city have their own cultural centre - for a performance by the Busan Metropolitan City Chorus.

Unlike the French Comedy, which had cost 22,500 won per ticket (about £13/$20), tickets to see the Busan Chorus were a mere 1,000 won (59 pence/88 cents) - a special promotion as part of the event's proximity to Children's Day on May 5th and Parents' Day on May 8th. This meant that the tickets only cost us 10 won more than the price of the forty-five minute subway journey to get there.

When I write about the costs of cultural events in Korea I usually add the equivalent British Pounds and US Dollar amounts to provide some context. However, an additional factor is that the average salary in South Korea is lower - according to the IMF in 2009 the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of the US in dollar terms was approximately $46,000, the UK was $35,000 and South Korea was $28,000. Furthermore, there is a large diversity of incomes in Korea, with Korea's income gap by gender being the largest in the OECD, many people earning less than the minimum wage - not just the young in my experience - and over 3 million Korean households being classed as living in poverty. In other words, attending cultural events may well be largely in the domain of the better off, which is why cultural initiatives priced to be more inclusive is, in principle, such a good idea.

Unfortunately, the price didn't translate into audience numbers in practice - vast areas of seats were empty by the time the performance was scheduled to begin. It crossed my mind that the 1,000 won pricing may have actually devalued the experience. My wife had been a little under the weather due to her pregnancy, and even we had paused to reconsider our attendance beforehand, which had the tickets been more expensive we likely wouldn't have.

So when fifty choir members walked out onto the stage, it was sadly entirely possible that they outnumbered the audience, meaning that unlike the previous day at the French Comedy, if they decided to rush us we were in trouble. I felt rather sorry for them, but if conductor Kim Kangkyu ('김강규') was discouraged he didn't show it as he proceeded to talk the audience through the various pieces with the enthusiasm and smile of a true believer. It was quite infectious.

And the Busan Metropolitan City Chorus seemed equally determined. I have to admit, the 1,000 won pricing had not served to build up any high expectations in my mind, and it wasn't what I expected in a half-empty district cultural centre a little off the beaten track. As they launched into a beautiful rendition of Caro mio ben I thought "Who are these people, and what are they doing here?"

The Chorus was not merely going to limit itself to some arias though, as it broke out of the opera genre and into a rousing and surprising rendition of the Scottish classic Loch Lomand. I thought I detected a couple of 'lubs' rather than 'loves' in there, but generally it sounded for all the world as though they were singing in a Scottish accent. If I'd closed my eyes I could have almost imagine the aftermath of an English rugby defeat. To provide some balance, England's Down by the Salley Gardens was also part of the brief choral tour of the Disunited Kingdom.

The varied repertoire next took us through Germany's Morgen! and Von ewiger Liebe, before returning to more familiar Italian territory with Tosti's La Serenata, and L'Ultima Canzone. The performances were good and I felt more than a little guilty afterwards that we'd considered not attending, because it would have been unfortunate to have missed it.

I was sorry for the choir in that they probably outnumbered the audience, but I learned later that they'd recorded a CD and appeared at more mainstream venues many times, so the day's rather limited audience was probably nothing more than an aberration.

Busanmike.blogspot.com
 
Twitter:  @BusanMike
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The Frog and I

My first real introduction to Cambodian cuisine was about half an hour from the Vietnamese border.

Our coach had made an ‘unscheduled’ stop at a small deserted cafe. My stomach led me into the eating area. Attempting the mantra ‘do as the locals do…’ I decided to go with whatever the native in front order; rice vegetables and a little meat. I motioned to the food and the server’s response was to imitate a frog. I hesitantly nodded and was handed a plate of stir-fry frog’s legs… It was delicious and although there was little meat that moment changed the way I thought about doing things.

 

© John Brownlie 2012


Destination: Lotus Lantern Festival (2010) - part 1



As in years past, the 연등회 (Yeon Deung Hoe, or Lotus Lantern Festival) is an excellent, if overly touristy, chance to learn more about one of the world's oldest religions. A folk festival that has origins in the Goryeo period continued as the Lantern Celebration in the Joseon Dynasty (광등노리), and continues as a social festival to this day. The religion and reverence, however, seems to get lost amidst the hubbub of making paper lotus flowers, candles, and a hundred other things.

The event started in the afternoon, with dozens of tents offering arts, crafts, and information.



Say, perhaps, you want to make a paper lotus lantern...



...or a screen ink print...



...or make a wish to tie onto any of the strings, or dozens of other arts and crafts projects. I never knew Buddha was so artistically inclined.



No idea why a lion was posing with a 'Good Hands Africa' at a Buddha's Birthday festival. What the Kimchi?



A bit more traditional - a large-scale jump rope where people just 'jumped in'.



One highlight of the afternoon - an excellent drumming performance. Not sure I could identify the different types of drums, but the sound was tight and attracted a large crowd.

Shortly after the drumming came a Korean costume / mask performance. Since the performance was narrated in Korean, I have little idea about the meaning of the different characters:





The half-hour show had a wide variety of characters - cutting it down to three pictures for the sake of keeping your attention was hard :)



Spreading sand - one grain at a time. Even for these masters of patience it takes house to create a mandala.



An art project for the grown-ups with a steady hand - paint a Buddha, just follow the lines.



We finally ended up at the temple - running into FeetMan Seoul (AKA the Metropolitican) while there. The scene was chaotic - hundreds of people running around trying to get lanterns and everything set up for the parade coming up soon.

While the festival attracted a large foreigner crowd, the whole thing seems a bit... fluffy. Much like Christmas in the US, the reason for the season has been lost - it's a family outing, not a reverential time. Even those trying to be reverential at the temple had a tough time navigating the colorful lanterns (still packaged five to a plastic bag) and the photographers going for the money shot.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's follow-up - the well-known Lotus Lantern Parade. After taking a couple hundred pictures it takes some time to pick out the best ones!

Creative Commons License © Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.


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