South Korean ESL vs. Japan
When we were in Las Vegas we happened to see a family from South Korea playing in the pool, and I decided to say hello. The family had a boy of around five years of age, and I was immediately impressed with how good his English was: he was able to answer a few of my questions and even make a joke, saying his family was from North Korea, which got his father quite flustered. The boy knew English because he'd been studying ESL, but I was amazed all the the same. Japanese children study ESL, too, often from a very young age, but something about Japan -- its conservative and xenophobic island-nation mind-set, perhaps -- keeps most students from actually, you know, learning the language. What was South Korea doing differently that enabled children to actually interact using English? Japan should study what programs its Asian neighbors are getting results with and make changes to its curriculum, although as long as I'm wishing, I could also use a pony.
What are the South Koreans doing to learn English that Japan isn't?
posted by Peter in Japan at 7:45 PM
5 Comments:
Maybe it has something to do with Koreans' obsession with education? I heard that the Koreans are quite obsess with education, something about getting a good job in the future and the lack of resources in their country. Also, I heard that the English education in Japan is not as advanced as other Asian countries. Take Southeast Asia countries for example. Even though the majority of these countries are still developing, they still put great efforts in studying English language. All for the sake for tourism and for higher learning in foreign country.
12:15 AM
I think you found an outlier data point. I lived in Seoul for a year (00-01) and found the level of English spoken there was less than in Japan. Though, maybe things have improved since then...
2:09 AM
Yes, I might have met a genius boy. Still, I knew a lot of teachers from Korea who knew their students would call them out if they messed up some grammar rule, whereas most Japanese students wouldn't bother calling you out on having made a mistake. They were really serious about studying, supposedly.
2:23 AM
One of the most successful educational sites in Korea is http://www.worknplay.co.kr/ You can come to Korea easily to teach English.
3:32 PM
Both Japan and South Korea are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to TOEIC scores.
In fact, S. Korea is usually lower.
But both countries are so far down on the list, it's fair to say they both could use a massive overhaul of their approach to English education.
8:22 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home