Reflection on "Exploring the Possibilities for EFL Critical Pedagogy in Korea...."

Anyone who reads this article who does not have any teaching experience may conclude Korean students in middle and high school levels English is great. So they speak with some grammatical and pronunciation errors, but "boy, do they express themselves well." I mean, she chose "two different EFL classes in South Korea, primarily during May 2001 through July 2001." Later in the article, she specifies "...in a large city in South Korea...in a middle-class neighborhood."

I was teaching at a high school in Daegu during this time, and it was the 3rd largest city in Korea, in a middle-class area, also doing after school classes. I don't remember my students debating about some topic. Maybe if they did, I wouldn't of been transfered to another school and would of been the star "foreign teacher" in the city.

My first point is that the article somehow artifically studied students that does not reflect the general student population. Since this article was written 10 years ago, I suspect that these students' English education was not learned in the school system, nor at language institutes. More so for the middle school students, how can they express themselves so eloquently when they only learned the language for a year or two at school and a few more years in high school. Language institutes at the time were more into teaching students reading and listening, not speaking or writing, like they are now. So, that leaves one possible answer, most of these students were English educated outside the country (around this time, the boom of sending students abroad started because the country graduated from IMF, the currency appreciated, and the English boom began...). Therefore, many middle class students were going abroad to learn English.

The article does not reveal nor does it hint on the students' English history. Therefore, the study is artifically studying students that are Western educated. Yes, this is a big assumption. My arguement above may be thin, however, my experience of almost 13 years in this country leads me to believe this because, not once did I ever had the frustration like the English teacher in the high school. As the author states the teachers intentions, "...he was seriously trying to engage his students in exploration of culture, with the goal of enhancing students' knowledge and skills in intercultural communication through examination and integration of the target culture and Korean culture. The teacher's goal for the students was to enable them to "explaing the concepts of culture in their own languages and understand how culture-conflicts occur and how they can handle them properly""

First of all, to even concieve to have a class discussion on culture, especially in grade school, one must assume, the students' language level must be a certain minimun to even start a discussion. Secondly, in most classrooms, even when they are grouped, advance, intermediate, beginner, there is a huge discripancy between certain skills. Students are usually grouped based on their grammar and reading levels. Therefore, the difference in the students level of speaking and writing is huge. In Korea, you cannot assume that if a student can read well, they can also write well, or listen well then speak well. There is no connection. Teachers in general do not connect these skills, most students learn them independently, therefore Korean students are quite poor in transfering these skills to enhance another.

My second arguement is, therefore, it is hard to have any fruitful discussion in any class, especially culture, students skill are all over the map. The questions then becomes, who will you concentrate on, the higher level students, then the middle and lower level starts to feel English is too hard or impossible. Focus on the middle level, then the higher levels are bored, and lower level distracts the class, or the lower level, then the whole class sleeps.

The high school teacher states, "If a singer is carrying his message through his songs, teachers do that through their teachings." My response to that is, "I wish my students listened to one type of music."

Comments on "Editorial - Korea's Proofreading Woes" by Elliot Patton

Mr. Patton is obviously frustrated with overt English usage in advertising and in public places. He asks, "How long does this have to continue? Unfortunately, most of the thousands of native English speakers living here are either desensitized to it or amused by these errors." Yes, he is correct in his narrow viewpoint. However, does he believe that thousands of native English speakers can correct the English of the Korean people? Later on in the article, near the end, he suggests his solution, "This leads me to a fairly intuitive solution for Korea's proofreading woes; At every major university in the country, there is a staff of well-educated native English speakers who work in language centers and English Departments." Wait, first he suggests native speakers in the country then arrogantly sugguests native speakers working at university can solve the problem. Now, only a select few, from the thousands, can help proofread and correct public slogans and signs.

I think Mr. Patton missed the marked. We, as native speakers of English, are only a bandage to a bigger problem of English. To change the English abilities of people starts in the root of education or the pedegogy of it. Yes this country spends a good portion of the GDP on English education but it is not well spent. I believe to change "Korea's proofreading woes" begins in elementary school when students first learn their ABC's and not after it. He's suggestion is in-line with the reason why natives are here, to put a bandage on the problem. Teaching English in University is quite late considering that the students already have their fundalmental language learning already. To lessen these proofreading woes, I suggest, starts at the fundalmental beginning stages of English. It has been less than 20 years since the first big wave of natives came to this country. I think slowly, the fruits of labor from the natives are becoming realized. Natives are changing English in Korea, but one bandage at a time and soon the wound will heal.