18 WEDNESDAY

MARCH 5, 2008 COMMUNITY

The tribulations of learning Korean

Before coming to Korea, I
hadn’t given much thought to
the fact that I was coming to a
country where the language
spoken was so entirely different
to mine, and that many people I
would meet in my day-to-day
life wouldn’t be able to under-
stand even basic English phras-
es.
But I had thought about it
Expat living is a page dedicated enough to make a three-hour
attempt at learning the
to the issues that affect foreigners'
Korean alphabet and get hold
daily lives. It is your page,
of a copy of “Teach Yourself
where you can share stories about Korean,” which I thumbed
your life in Korea. Send story through for the first time on
ideas to Matthew Lamers the plane over. As I sat on that
at mattlamers@heraldm.com plane, nervously awaiting my
fate in Korea, I got talking to
the woman next to me, a Swiss
woman who had studied
Korean for several years and
James Devereux
on Studying Korean
She taught me my very first
“annyeong haseyo,” as well as
several other basic phrases,
many of which I observed all
contained words that ended in
“yo.” We talked about this, and I
learned my first bit of Korean
grammar, that the “yo” ending
is a way of being polite in
Korean.
Looking back on my first few
weeks and months of studying
Korean, I can remember what
an uphill struggle it could feel
like at times, when I’d be satis-
fied enough if the person I was
talking to just understood my
pronunciation of the textbook
phrases I’d read off the page to
Reading all these “yo’s” and
“imnida’s,” I could only marvel
about the meaning behind
them before I began a more for-
mal study of the language. But
now that I’ve been living in
Korea and studying Korean, I
have some understanding of
the language, and consequent-
ly, a much better understand-
ing of the culture I am living
in.
What struck me about
Korean initially is how differ-
ent it was from the languages I
had some elementary knowl-
edge of from studying at school,
French and Spanish, in my
case. The first and most obvi-
ous thing is that the words are
entirely unrelated to English
(except for the sublime phe-
nomenon of Konglish, English
into Korean), which meant
learning an entire new vocabu-
lary in the beginning. But now
with some knowledge of the ba-
sic vocabulary, the words are
easier to learn in many cases,
because I have a better idea
how they should be pro-
nounced, but also because
many words in Korean share
the same roots which make up
part of the word.
The second thing that struck
me in the beginning was the dif-
ference in Korean grammar,
which can be summarized as be-
ing opposite to English gram-
mar in the nature of sentence
construction (verbs usually
come after objects rather than
before).
Other than this, there exists
the need for grammatical mark-
sible sentences and a formida-
ble collection of verb conjuga-
tions, which can indicate all
kinds of things about the con-
versation and the relationship
between the speakers.
As a student of Korean, then,
I suppose I am lucky in that I
enjoy learning Korean grammar
and the intellectual puzzle (and
at times, punishment) it pre-
sents. As a nonnative speaker of
Korean I lack the benefit of in-
tuition, of just knowing if a sen-
tence feels right. This, coupled
with the discussed difficulties,
presents a real challenge but a
challenge that I’m willing to ac-
cept.
James can be reached via e-
mail at jjdevereux@hotmail.-

Mucking up the could speak it well. them. words that have been adopted ers in order to form comprehen- co.uk — Ed.

English language Classroom

icebreakers
Jeffery Hodges on Language
for English
An assiduous reader has kindly informed me that my col-
umn on profane expressions utterly misconstrues the mean-
ing of fuggedaboudit, which is neither profane nor derived
students
from Norman Mailer’s fugging novel, “The Naked and the
Dead.” Sean Smith
Turns out that in fuggedaboudit, the first six letters express on EFL
not the past participle of Mailer’s fug but a slangy pronunciation
of forget and thus do not spell out the decline of Anglo-Saxon cul- Icebreakers are one of the sta-
ture at all. ples of a teacher’s repertoire.
One might see slangy terms like fuggedaboudit as evi- They help people connect, but
dence of linguistic decline ... but forget about it. Norman my primary purpose in Korea is
Mailer is not the culprit anyway. I have uncovered a differ- to get as many people talking to
ent dead white male whose canonical literary work bears re- as many other people as possi-
sponsibility for the current debasement of our language: ble in order to break down inhi-
Philip Larkin. bitions and set the tone for a
I know, I know. Readers will tell me that Larkin’s poem “This communicative classroom, and
Be the Verse” does not grease the skids of our decline but mere- build a good classroom atmos-
ly expresses our slippage. That argument, however, fails as fal- phere.
laciously as the argument that gangsta rap merely expresses the Having each student stand up
reality of ghetto violence but does not advocate it, though every- one-by-one and give a brief intro-
body knows sure as shootin’ that gansta rap glorifies street vio- duction of him or herself is not a
lence. particularly good way to do intro-
Indeed, the former argument fails even more egregiously, for ductions or icebreakers.
Larkin’s poem does not merely cite the “f word;” it actively uses In terms of selecting a good
that word — as if gangsta rappers were to fire off Uzis on stage icebreaker, an important factor
to enhance their performances. is that, in many universities,
Those who have never read Larkin’s verse may imagine that I many students may already be
exaggerate, so allow me to quote his profane poem in full, ex- somewhat familiar with each
cepting a minor bowdlerization in the offending word: other due to the fact that they
have gone through orientation
This Be the Verse together, or have attended other
classes together. This familiari-
They f --- you up, your mum and dad, ty issue is also present in middle
They may not mean to but they do and high school classes since
They fill you with the faults they had most students advance together
And add some extra just for you. through the grades.
Thus, the key is to focus on ac-
But they were f ----- up in their turn tivities that are fun, engaging, and
By fools in old style hats and coats in some way focus on a language
Who half the time were soppy-stern point that the learners need to im-
And half at one another’s throats. prove. That is, all activities should
have value on a number of levels;
Man hands on misery to man. they should be beneficial to vari-
It deepens like a coastal shelf. ous branches of learning.
Get out as early as you can For example, a simple ques-
And don’t have any kids yourself. tion-and-answer activity be-
tween small groups of students,
No kids? As if that would stop our descent when it would in fact followed by a summarative re-
effect our terminal decline. Well, fight fire with fire, I always say, port back to the larger group, can
so I have composed my own little poem of unfriendly fire aimed work. In order to add some lan-
in Larkin’s direction: guage focus, the teacher could
have a simple grammar review
This Be the Worse focusing on question forms.
Alternatively, the focus could be
When Philip Larkin wrote, that cad, on politeness, as in building
In nineteen-seventy-f ------ two, awareness of the different kinds
He fouled me with the fault he had of questions that one may ask in
Of saying well what isn’t true. English compared to Korean.
Both of the above examples
PHOTO CHALLENGE — Open to all en-
But he was f ----- up in his turn could be further enhanced by
tries — Taken at Gyeongbok Palace, this
From closely cultivating oats having students in groups brain-
is an iconic Korean reference shot. For
That he had wildly sown to learn storm, beforehand, questions to
a long time, I had the idea of getting a
What he could then shove down our throats. ask each other. Following that,
traditional guard reflected in the blade
the teacher could put some of the
of his sword. The light that day added to
“Man hands on misery to man”? questions on the board.
the saturation of the color.
His own sits there upon my shelf. Students would then ask ques-
Derek Winchester (flickr.com/photos/derekwin)
“Get out as early as you can”? tions to each other and record
At least he had no kids himself. their answers in order to report
to a different student. After a
Lest pedants once again correct me on a point that I know full short time, learners would be
well, let me admit that Larkin wrote his poem in nineteen-sev-
enty-one, but that would destroy my rhyme scheming, and given
the choice between a pedant’s accuracy and saying well what is-
n’t true, I prefer the latter. Besides, I have poetic licentiousness
and can do as I will.
In focus: Where to shoot?
By David Smeaton other locals won’t mind being ous choice. It’s quite big and Everland.
asked to switch partners and in-
troduce their prior partner.
In order to make any question-
and-answer activity work well
with students who are somewhat
Licentiousness, regrettably, is not liberty, and trapped in this photographed. some amazing photos can be Watch for cultural events familiar with each other, another
prison house of language, I reflect upon my own linguistic crime I’ve been reading your col- It’s difficult to get landscapes captured during all four sea- and national holidays. Korea good idea would be to narrow the
of passion and perceive that I stand guilty of the very thing for umn and I’ve got lots of useful in Seoul, so you could try head- sons, especially around the has a lot of celebrations and field of questions. Instead of the
which I have accused Larkin. In St. Paul’s apt words: “Therefore tips. However, I’m still new to ing out of town on weekends. A ponds and lakes. Changdeok they always put on a big spec- typical “What’s your name?
thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for Korea and I don’t know many lot of places can be fun, such as Palace and Changgyeong tacle. Buddha’s Birthday is Where do you live? Do you have
wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou good places to shoot on week- Seokcho or the Boseong green Palace are in Jongno. If you coming up in May. any brothers or sisters?” get
that judgest doest the same things.” ends. Where can I get some tea fields. Or, if you want to head to Suwon, they have a big But don’t limit yourself to the learners talking about their most
Peccavi. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. good shots? Marie, Seoul. stay in Seoul, try cityscapes in- fortress. There’s another commonly frequented sites. embarrassing moment, scariest
Thanks Marie, I’m glad stead, capturing architecture mountain fortress called Nam- Remember that horse racing, ski event, or strangest dream.
you’ve found my column useful. and skylines. hansanseong in Seongnam. It’s resorts, sports stadiums, caves, The icebreakers detailed above
Jeffery is a professor at Kyung Hee University and can be Actually, this question is hard Religion is big in Korea, so a really nice place to visit, has folk villages, hot springs and oth- all have a brief grammar focus, a
reached through his blog Gypsy Scholar at gypsyscholar- to answer because everyone there are always lots of great a view of Seoul and a small er places can be a lot of fun. brainstorming session, a pair-work
ship.blogspot.com — Ed. has different styles and tastes photo opportunities. Buddhist temple, too. The website english.tour2ko- component, group work, as well as
when it comes to photography. temples are everywhere. Two Some foreigners really enjoy rea.com is a fantastic source, whole-class work. Additionally,
Seoul is a street photograph- popular choices are Bong Eun photographing Korean culture. with detailed directions. they utilize all four language sub-
Calling overseas Koreans er’s dream. Crowded streets
make for great photographs. I’d
Temple near COEX and Jeogye
Temple near Insa-dong. It’s
Touristy areas are good for
this, since there are lots of peo-
Happy shooting. skills, have kinesthetic aspects,
and focus on changes that keep
The Korea Herald would like to hear from Koreans living recommend Insa-dong, Hong- hard to go hiking on a hill or ple wearing hanbok and selling students’ attention on task.
overseas. dae and Itaewon. You should be mountain without finding at colorful, traditional souvenirs. Send David a message at Most importantly, they get stu-
If you live abroad, or know someone that does, and are in- careful, though, because not least one temple, so it can be fun Namdaemun market, davidsmeaton@gmail.com or visit dents talking to each other and pre-
terested in sharing your experiences living as an expat in everyone likes having their to explore. For churches, the Dongdaemun market and his website at www.david- pare students for further commu-
a foreign land, please e-mail Matt at mattlamers@her- photo taken. Make sure you Catholic Church in Myeong- Insa-dong are very bright and smeaton.com. If you want to be a nicative practice in the classroom.
aldm.com for more information. are considerate of that; even dong is by far the most amaz- attractive. part of the weekly Photo
Each “Letter From Abroad” submission should be 1,000 approach people when possible ing. It’s a big cathedral that has Other areas of interest: Challenge, join the “Seoul Photo
words and clearly explain the rewards, risks, and life and ask them if it’s okay. quite a Gothic feel to it. Olympic Park, Seoul Children’s Club” group at flickr (flickr.com/- Share your favorite ice break-
lessons of living abroad. Usually, street vendors and Gyeongbok Palace is an obvi- Grand Park, Seoul Zoo, groups/seoulphotoclub). — Ed. ers on Sean’s blog www.eflgeek.-
com. — Ed.