Lifetime employment for me

President seeks better English skills for pupils

President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that he wants Koreans to have a better command of English, so that they won’t be “depressed” because of difficulties speaking the language.

I had never thought of myself as a "psychologist" but perhaps I'm helping people avoid depression by teaching them English. Do shrinks get paid more than teachers?

“Our students are the best in many fields, but one weak point is English,” Roh said, noting that Koreans spent 4.4 trillion won ($4.7 billion) abroad and 10 trillion at home to study English.

I always find it odd that Koreans are so critical of their English ability. I've taught students from many countries and I've always been impressed by Koreans' ability. As for English helping them economically, which is one of their big beliefs, I've always thought that Koreans speak much better English than the Japanese, and that hasn't hurt the Japanese too much.

In addition, the government is working to build English villages on Jeju Island for less privileged children to learn English...“I am especially worried that a few students who have better living conditions may improve their English faster than those who are disadvantaged,” Roh said.

People with better living conditions seem to do everything better. I wonder why that is. Could it be that better food and more comfortable surroundings make people happier and happier people learn better? At any rate, although the president often seems weak, confused, and misguided, I think that anything that can be done to help the less-privileged is a good thing.

During the event yesterday, Roh was asked by a student how he had learned English. The president answered, “I did my best, but what I did was only reading and studying grammar without the chance to speak the language.”

I hope that no one notices this. Our university seems to think that our students can speak well but they can't read and write well. We are going to focus on teaching writing. Can it be that we are out of step with President Noh's educational theories?

I've always thought that it is more natural for all four skills to be taught together. I think that, if you read about something, hear it, talk about it, and write about it, you reinforce the vocabulary and grammar, see everything in similar but different contexts, and then really understand it. But that's just me.