Today I had a female student, in her 30s, who works at Coupang. She uses English a lot at work, so her company wants her to improve her English for business meetings and dealing with foreign customers.
She took a level test on the computer, which tested her grammar and speaking skills. Her result came out that she was a low-intermediate student. She acknowledged in her first class that she was nervous, which was very apparent. She was shaking a bit at the beginning of class and spoke with a lack of confidence.
As the class was about half over, we worked our way into an activity about giving advice. She would read a situation on the card and pretend she would give advice to that person using the word "should". Since she was the only student, she read the problem and gave advice as well. She used other phrases such as "Why don't you~", "How about ~ing?" and a couple others so this wasn't new to her. However, her answers were very typical of a student that has gone through the education system:
1. Her answers were very basic and not creative.
2. She had a hard time thinking outside the box.
3. In her mind, she felt like there was only one right answer.
For example:
Situation 1: "I would like to get a job in travel and tourism."
Student's Advice: "You should study tourism in university."
Ultimately, I tried to get my student to be more creative and think as if she was talking to her best friend. She could say "Why don't you become a flight attendant?" OR "Why don't you go to different countries, experience the culture, and see if you want to do that job?" OR "Why don't you improve your English and become a tour guide?"
So we tried another one:
Situation 2: "I'm going to fly next week, but I'm frightened of flying."
Student's advice: "You shouldn't be nervous."
I asked my student "What if that person just hates flying and she's always nervous? What specific advice can you give her?" She had a hard time answering, so I gave her more examples "You should drink some wine", "You should take some medicine before you get on the flight", "You should read a book", etc.
As a victim of the Korean education system, we still have students that are shy, afraid to make mistakes, or think there's only one answer. Do I have faith that the Korean education system will get any better? Younger students are starting to speak English better, but are the habits changing? Former President Lee Myung Bak wanted to get rid of the academy (hakwon) system but things reversed themselves as Koreans allowed academies to stay open until 11pm as of last year. Kids still attend 3-4 academies on top of going to school everyday and the college entrance exam is still a major thorn in high school students' high school lives. The pressure still remains high and parents want their kids to attend the best universities (Seoul, Korea, or Yonsei- SKY universities). I pray that kids can be kids one day here and there is more emphasis on critical thinking skills and outdoor activities. I also hope more Koreans will step up and start a revolution to change the system here. It definitely needs an overhaul.
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
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