In Korea, it is previleged for getting a job to be able to speak foreign languages. Especially, English is very important for most of job seekers to have high English proficiency and a certified English examination record. To tell the truth, it is too much booming, and people spend a lot of money for taking English classes in English private schools. And, that is the reason why so many English native speakers go to Asian countries to teach English. I heard that it is not difficult to get a job as an English teacher in Korea for English native speakers.
For that reason, I could meet some English native speaker-teachers who were from Canada, US and Australia. Most of them enjoyed Korean culture and made good Korean friends. Sometimes, I was surprised that they visited more traditional places than I had been in Korea, and they knew more information about Korea than I knew. I was so thankful for them whenever I heard new stories about Korea from them.
However, there was one thing I felt bad for the foreign teachers. When I sometimes asked them why they don't learn Korean, they answered "Why? I don't have to learn Korean. Everybody wants to speak English to me. I don't feel any difficulty to live here without Korean." Sadly, it might be true that maybe some Korean people don't want them to speak Korean for their English study. However, I still think the foreign teachers' way of thinking is wrong. Frankly speaking, whenever I heard the story from foreigners who had lived in Korea more than two years, the first thing coming across on my mind is that they were so stupid or too lazy. How come they can speak it proudly? If I were them, I would not have spoken such words because I would feel shame that I didn't learn a language even though I had spent more than one year in a country. Moreover, How come they can speak those words in front of Koreans? Do they expect Korean people are gonna respond like "I think so, you don't have to learn Korean. Maybe you don't have enough time to learn Korean, and you are not gonna use Korean after you go back to your country." Some Koreans might think like that, but I think sensible Koreans will not do that.
It is kind of disgraceful and rude thing for Koreans. As for me, it sounds like "Your language is not useful; I don't wanna spend time for learning your language." I understand some of them really don't have time to learn something in Korea, or some of them just think learning Korean is difficult and time-consuming thing. I mean I understand the differences between the way of foreigners' perspectives and the way of my perspective as a Korean. I just wanna point out about their wrong attitudes that they speak such the words in front of Koreans without any consideration. I think at least they should have pretended to feel sorry that they had not learned Korean just by saying "Yeah, I wanna learn Korean when I have some vacations. I think Korean is an interesting language." I don't think it is a blatant lie. I think it is a polite attitude about people in another country.
Even though Korean people are crazy about learning English, it doesn't mean we look down on our own languages. The meaning of two languages is different. We regard English as a tool language for communicating with other people in different countries, but we don't feel any responsibility or patriotism about English. However, we feel those feelings about Korean as the language we have to preserve forever. I hope people don't misunderstand about the English boom situation in Korea in the same way that Korean people don't love Korean anymore.
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2 comments:
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yeah, that's true. I can't believe that some people don't make any efforts to get new languages although they have really good chances to learn them.
If i were them, i definetely would try to learn it though it was really minor language.
But I think it might be possible that his/her friends in Korea did not let him/her try to learn English because they wanted to speak English, cause I can imagine the same situation like this easily. So I don't think we necesarryly can blame them. As for me,not so many American people are studying Japanese so I need to learn English everywhere dispite of my motivation, but as for American people, even though they go to another country, most of people can speak English and they cannot learn another languege unless they have motivation. I think it is a kind of pity.
In addition, the situation between English and Korean/Japanese are different as you know, so some native English speakers might think English is the most superior language and they cannot find motivations to lean another language unless we can find motivations easily to learn English. Fortunately, my native English speakers are eager to learn some other languages, but I think there are absolutely this kind of people from my experience in the US.
Yap, I agree that we may not understand Americans or people in other countries who use the major language, so I may not say they should learn other languages when they stay in those countries. But, I still think that they should have shown sort of etiquette to others' languages, or at least should not tell that they don't wanna learn those languages to natives.
I was just annoyed because so many people have told me that they didn't have to learn Korean when they were in Korea so naturally even though I am a Korean:(
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