Linguaculture and
English Learning
by Kenneth Sélin
Introduction
I am the English as a second language (ESL) facilitator of English usage with my foreign partner from Korea. Her name
is So Ra Park.
I have met with her onl five occasions for a total of five hours. Right off she
explained very forthrightly that her greatest need was to practice speaking. Surprisingly, she came on
two different occasions with a friend. The first time it was with a very bright Korean young man,
Yung-Hun, and a second time with a Japanese girlfriend. Each time I would explain what we
were attempting to do with our routines which consisted basically the practicin of rhythmic
English speech delivery and the explanation of word usages as they cropped up in our discussion.
I bumped into Yung-Hun again and he asked me at that particular time what I
was doing. So I showed him an article was reading and pointed out that it had a metaphorical title that
could *not* be taken literally. We talked about what it meant and discussed
the value speaking a casual sort of English as he tended to be very polite and formal.
It seems that there is a lot of interest on the part of So Ra's friends to assess for
themselves what we do do. I think this is great and I'm always happy and willing to let other people participate in the fun we have.
Oddly though her teacher reportedly said that she thought we were being too serious. I could not see how that was the case as the materials we were using were fun rhyming poems though we did discuss topics of personal interest to So Ra and I'd never discuss anything that was not related to English language acquistion or English culture. Second language teaching should at no time be an intelligence seeking exercise.
To gather information for this project I would be discreet and let So Ra decide what we should discuss though I'd offer topics from which she could choose from so that she felt she was in charge.
If she felt dissatisfied with anything such asif I talked too much, I
encouraged her to let me know and she did. We tried at all times to keep our encounters on campus pleasant
and at the same time to enable us to gather information for our respective projects. All the while I try to motivate and facilitat her acquisition of English.
By way of motivation, we discussed foreign language learning as quite useful as a tool that enables us to become an
international person and how a second language might increase our appreciation for the nuances in our own native language
thereby making us perhaps more fluent linguisticly. We even discussed the possible difficulty that may arise in accessing the second language while in mainly our first language environment. To explain this problem I use the term "channel switching problem" (a term of mine that I enjoy using
freely).
It seems to me that the acquisition of foreign languages creates a more sophisticated cognitive process which in turn automatically allows for greater degrees of verbal freedom including greater conceptual versatility in the exercise of verbal self expression. 
I feel if the foreign language learner realizes this, s/he will better respond to foreign language stimulus and more speedily master it. Foreign language benefits to the learning process is openly acknowledged by the Ministry of Education in the province of British Columbia explains its willingness to promote foreign language learning at the elementary school level. While doing my practicum for my B.Ed. I was astonishingly obvious that those students in my Grade 2 and Grade 5 class who were in the process of mastering three languages were clearly and significantly stronger academically than everyone else in almost every way from greater attentiveness to applying themselves harder.
Secondly, I also strongly feel that foreign language acquisition must also the acquisition at least in part of its culture which can haved the added benefit of validating one's own cultural identity and native language while renewing the individual's ability in his/her intrinsic ability to learn based on his/her own insights or lumières, inner light. (Of couse I'm speaking as a gestaltist and not a behaviorist who sees learning as having very much an extrinic, environmental shaping component.
I would like to sum up by making a few points. First, I am unable to determine if So Ra is
currently reading English on her own, and if so, what is her English leisure reading material of choice.
Second, I have not as yet received a sample of her writing. I have suggested just five to eight
lines on anything that could be used as a trampoline for discussion. This leads to my third point and
current priority: getting her to talk on an issue without her having me talk. The good news is that we
did accomplish this the fifth and last time we met.
Finding a Methodology
On our very first meeting we practised "sentence speech delivery" by playing with the sentences inherent stress pattern. For example, I had So Ra say: "I'm sooh saaaad todaaay. I'm soooj very, very, very saaad." "That tree is so taaall, sooh taaall." etc.
The second meeting was devoted to answering her personal questions about me and concluded with the practice of some English expressions. I had her practice the "th" sound by saying: "I like all those tall trees."
The third time we met with her male Korean friend, Yung-Hun at which time I mention the need to learn to speak English casually in a laid back kind of manner which is very much unlike the quick, ligthly abrupt respiratory fluctuations experienced in the delivery of a sentence in many oriental languages like Korean.
The fourth time we met with her
Japanese girl friend and practised the "j" sound as in such words as "judge", "BlueJays" and "gym" as
well as the meaning of words like "scratches" both in its verbal and nominal form and the verbal "swim,
swam" tense combo along with meaning of such expressions as "sentimental value", "pretty sure" "ghetto mentality" and
"clearing the cobwebs".
The last time we met we discussed from a discourse point of view what
*the degree of seriousness* of the expression "You're aggravating me." meant when addressed to a
stranger, a very good girl friend, and a boyfriend. For example, in the first instance, it is a very explicit warning that if
the behaviour persists serious action such as calling the police will be taken, in the second
instance the girl is distracted mentally and unable to fully respond to her girlfriends verbal demands, and in the third instance,
she just probably wishs to be left alone.
In short, finding a methodology is in my estimation a negotiating "bid and offer" process
that requires at least six encounters before an establish pattern and rhythm of proceeding "sets in".
Linguaculture and
English Learning
Introduction
This pedagogical linguaculture approach to teaching English as a foreign language allows for an active interchange between the native facilitator and the foreign language learner by exchanging and contrasting cultural information on an equal footing. One of its major advantages is that it avoid the pitfall of the inherently lopsided student-teacher relationship. One of its most attractive feature is the fact that discussions which are meant to provider the foreign language learner with occasions to extend his/her mastery of the language focuses on "objective matter", the respective cultures of both persons rather than on "subjective matter", their private lives and tastes which inadvertantly may require personal, embarassing justification for either party at the risk at times of being a "non-consenting" invasion of psychic privacy.
Consequently, It tends to be "safer" as the discourse tends to be more factual and objectified rather than personally invasive and subjectified making either vulnerable to an inappropriate question that may be viewed on the personal level as being offensive and could possibly generat a high level of unnecessary unease and discomfort that would adversely affect the enjoyment of the encounter between the two of them.
Travelling in Korea
So Ra explained that there are many interesting places to visit in Korea. For example
there is Kuyngbukkung, the Venerable King of Soo-Chun, not far from the capital city, Seoul.
In Seoul, University Street because of its renown for its young university crowd in its bars and
restaurants is a preferred hangout for the young crowd.
Just a 3-hour car ride from Seoul is a very big amusement park called Everland that
families enjoy visiting. So Ra claims that it is so big that it takes at least 10 hours to see everything. Needles to say it's a favourite
vacation spot with Koreans. She pointed out that one of the most popular activities are the Safari bus rides that allows
the visitors to get close to the many exotic animals that are there such as giraffes, elephants,
seals, polar bears, etc.
For holidaying Koreans like to head to two islands just south of the Korean peninsula. The larger island, the one further south, is called Cheju Island and the other closer to the peninsula is called
Kawjeh Island. The former has the distinction of being a vacation land of choice for both Koreans and
foreigners especially in the summer time. One of its attractions is its sky blue sea. However, So
Ra prefers the latter because it is so clean and the people are "so kind" to the tourists and the
colour of the beaches are different from what you find elsewhere. So Ra suggests that it is better
to go there by car to avoid the long bus waits. A salient feature of this island is its high cliffs that
against a dark blue sea backdrop.
Buddhist Temples
There are many Buddhist temples throughout Korea. One of particular interest to Koreans is the Hae-in Temple in the Kyongbuk Province, a four hour car ride southeast of Seoul. There is a beautiful, quiet, clean river that is so cold that you'll freeze your feet if you leave them too long in the water.
So Ra's mother and father visit the temple bimonthly bowing 600 times and reciting three
times their beads for an hour an a half. Her mother will go regularly to visit a Buddhist shrine
nearby, a twenty minute walk from home. Everyday she will recite her beads three times from
11:00 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. .
It is important to note that there appears to be a sort of generation gap as far as culturally Buddhist practice is concerned: though the parents enjoin their children to go with them to the temple, they prefer to do other things with their time much to the chagrin of the parents. So Ra explains this by saying that Korean society is changing.
Get your own Free Home Page
Updated: January 14, 1999