Comments on: I am NOT leaving the USA to teach English

By: yesol

yesol — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:13:59 +0000

That is a good idea!

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:13:26 +0000

I almost feel sorry for that particular subset of the population that tries to find “foreign friends” for the express purpose of speaking English – those who aren’t teachers don’t want to take them, nor do the professionals want to be stuck with them during their off hours^^

By: qklilx

qklilx — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:32:29 +0000

@Gomushin Girl
Oh don’t get me wrong I have plenty of friends who speak English and I usually only use English with them. Not only is it beneficial for them but it’s easier for me. Yeah that means that I’d probably stick to English if ALL my friends spoke it… and sometimes my non-English speaking friends will attempt to communicate with me in English, usually without much success unfortunately. One of them learned to express himself pretty well with his limited knowledge over the 10 months I was hanging out with him. The reason I try to avoid English speakers is because I don’t want to be thought of as a dictionary; there are plenty of other foreigners around who can fill that role, sorry to say.

By: sjsanjs

sjsanjs — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:15:15 +0000

@Chunbum Park

er… actually, Japanese don’t use “kkk”. Instead, they use “w” which stands for “warau(to laugh)”. So they go “wwwwwwww”

“kkk” is probably from Korean people who tried to use “ㅋㅋㅋ” to foreigners.

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:44:26 +0000

While I’m mostly on the side of practicing my Korean whenever possible, I don’t think it’s a huge deal to have Korean friends with whom I speak English sometimes or primarily. There’s lots of reasons for this – some of my friends simply have a much higher level of fluency in English than I have in Korean, and it seems silly to have a less interesting conversation than we otherwise. I already spend most of my time speaking Korean, so a few hours of enlightening conversation elsewhere, even with native speakers of Korean, is just fine. Also, Koreans wanting to speak and practice their English is pretty admirable, and I don’t mind speaking in English with some friends sometimes so they can get used to using a foreign language, even when my Korean is more fluent. As long as things are fair and equitable, and language isn’t the sole basis of the relationship, a little flexibility is great.

By: qklilx

qklilx — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:13:52 +0000

@Chris

That’s why I almost never spend time around Koreans who know English past the high school level. The only English practice they get is when they try to swear. I’ve got a bunch of friends who have never heard me speak English. In fact some of my friends hate the idea of studying English and wouldn’t bother hanging out with me if I didn’t know Korean.

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:47:34 +0000

Stereotype or not, it’s annoying as all get out to those of us who aren’t. Stick to your guns ~ it’s not that English teaching is bad, but if you’re here to study and learn, doing a lot of 과외 will just suck up your time, energy, and enjoyment. It’s also technically illegal (although your chances of being caught/punished for it are essentially nil) and often the remuneration isn’t really enough to compensate you for the things you could otherwise be doing (hanging out with friends, learning more of the language, traveling)
But I have to say, you’ll probably be swamped with offers. It took me months and months of telling people I don’t teach or tutor for people to finally take the hint and stop asking me. Now they just ask me if I have any friends who tutor^^;;;

By: Chris in South Korea

Chris in South Korea — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:00:30 +0000

I’m sure you’re a strong guy – you probably won’t get that many offers unless you imply that you’re available to do it. Be aware that many Koreans might view dinner / lunch as ‘conversation building’ time – and a free English lesson.

Yes, it is a stereotype – but stereotypes are built on a grain of truth. Almost every American living in Korea is an English teacher… Sorry to prove the stereotype true, but in this case it is.

By: 박상현

박상현 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:31:47 +0000

Austrians say “kkk” too. K stands for “kicher” which is just giggling.

By: Sean Brown

Sean Brown — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:25:06 +0000

Yeah – in the summer, I agreed to teach my friend’s sister English. I think I was actually decent at it but it was a big mistake. I should have been using my time much more wisely.

By: Chunbum Park

Chunbum Park — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:58:28 +0000

“ㅋㅋㅋ”

wonder where Koreans got the net phrase/emoticon

Japanese go “k k k” which is basically the same thing

By: mstrum

mstrum — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:10:28 +0000

@박상현 Darn you 상현 ㅋㅋㅋ

By: 박상현

박상현 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:53:31 +0000

Teach me English please!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please??????????
Pretty please???????????????

JK…

By: qklilx

qklilx — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:52:29 +0000

Are you getting those offers from all the Koreans you befriended online, by any chance? lol

I’ve never gotten an offer like that, but you can expect a few Koreans to suggest becoming an English teacher when you go. It’s totally cool to tell them why you don’t want to do it. I tell them I don’t want to get the media’s label. If I want to have a job in Korea I’m doing it in ways most foreigners cannot. Simply because I know the language.

Anyway yeah student life is better based on both my observations and my conversations with a few people who have been a teacher AND a student.