Learning a new language could be so much exciting yet challenging. Currently, I'm learning Korean in Korea which gives me a chance to observe and analyze the difficulties of learning Korean using
english as well as learning
english using Korean, the situation of my students. I started my
english teaching career in Korea two years ago. Then, I realized that teaching and learning skills in Korea are so much different from my homeland – Malaysia, where we also learn
english as a second language.
english is a big issue in the Korean Educational System. In order to compensate the inadequacy such as lack of exposure to the native speakers, many students attend the after school program at the private language institution called as Hakwons or
english Academies usually taught by native
english tutors and assisted by Korean
teachers. From my experience of teaching at the private academies, I found out that Koreans emphasize too much on literal translation from
english to Korean and vice versa as well as excessive memorization on the vocabulary with no further practice on the
application of the new vocabulary. This is so much different from Malaysia as we don't learn
english from native speakers and we focus more on the usage of the language. In my opinion, Korea needs to create the environment for practicing
english such as using
english at the fast food and western restaurants as we are doing in Malaysia.
The sound system of
english is so different from the sound system of Korean that native Koreans learning
english encounter a multitude of phonological snares. I was so surprised to see the
kids to literally convert my
english pronunciation into Korean using the Korean alphabets. As a result, they might not be able to read the words without the assistance of Korean alphabets and they also couldn't pronounce the words in a proper way. For example, the Korean spelling of Vancouver is “Baenkkubeo” (???). Also, the Korean-
english usually known as Konglish routinely makes substitutions that have been deeply ingrained over time and must be corrected, so that the proper pronunciation habits can be developed.
Korean is an agglutinative language which means the verb information such as tense and the social relation between the speaker and listener is added successively to the end of the verb. This is in contrast to
english which makes extensive use of auxiliaries to convey verb meaning. It is to be expected that some Korean learners will initially have problems in accurately producing
english verb phrases. Besides, Korean has a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order which is fairly different from the SVO word order that typifies
english. Since personal reference is avoided, it is common to encounter Korean sentences consisting of the verbs only. Thus, they need intensive training and practice in working within the permitted exceptions in order to avoid monotonous written text whose sentences all start with the subject.
In comparison to the western counterparts, Korean students have a very different classroom culture. In contrast to
english students, Korean students tend to express themselves in general and indirect ways, even when asked to express their ideas. Also, one of the most perplexing phenomenon Koreans experience is the fossilization of certain mistakes caused by the interference from their first language. For instance, many Koreans repeat the question-answer format of Korean negative
questions when communicating in
english.
In conclusion, learners of
english as a second language around the world would have experienced the similar difficulties and challenges as the Korean learners. Nevertheless, the Korean learners have a better exposure and chance to learn
english from the native speakers. Thus, the
english skills of the millennium generation are excelling the previous generations especially the speaking skill. Koreans are well-known for their hard work and diligence, with constant encouragement and guidance, learning
english would be more motivating and satisfying.