Twisty turny story

Park Ji Hyun, ?no name?, Eunjin Cho, Han Kyung Jae, Yoojin Jung, Lee Yujin, Lee Kyeong-im, and Ryu Jeong A(editor)

Hi, it’s the year 2015. I am a Korean student and I have just graduated from high school. I really have to say that I feel very proud of and confident in my English proficiency! I am not a special student. I am average. But almost all “average” students in Korea these days like English and can use it well. That’s because English education in Korean public school is very different now compared to 10 years ago.

You know why? First of all, middle and high schools’ system and their level of teaching environment become same as the best. Ten years ago, we had very different level of schools. So, people let their children study to enter a ‘good’ school not for study itself. Because of this, there were so many private institutes where they helped students enter those schools. But now, every school has the best educational environment. So, children do not need to prepare for entering exam. They can enjoy English due to the very good system and school environment, and start to have great interests in learning English.

Next, we have more chances to use English while we are attending middle and high school. For example, we have sisterhood relationship with some schools abroad like U.S.A., Great Britain, Australia, Japan, etc., so we have well-developed exchange student programs. Students are coming and going, and able to learn the culture and language from other countries; moreover, those students who are meeting new students broad can be nice helpers and friends by communicating with the visiting students in English.

In addition, we have many opportunities to check my English ability via many sorts of contests, such as speaking, writing, making cartoons, and so on. Of course they should be in English. We don’t have any anxiety of using English any more. We just enjoy it. If we win the contests, we can have wonderful chances to go abroad to learn and experience other cultures in which people speak English as their native language. Then we can improve our English ability. Isn’t it great?

Forth, the broadcasting system has changed a lot more than before. We used to have Korean context TV programs. But now, we can watch TV programs such as soap opera, drama, movies, and etc. with English subtitles. Children can watch cartoons with English subtitles in Korean context. We can also enjoy various TV programs from English spoken context within Korean subtitles. Those systems make us familiar with English and we can be exposed to English much.

Nest, every night before we sleep, we get a special phone call from abroad. Our talking should be in English. We can talk whatever we want. First time, we were too afraid to pick up the phone, but now we are used to talking on the phone in English. Speaking English comes to become a part of our daily lives!!

Lastly, because of developed technology, it is possible to go anywhere in the world in a day. Nowadays most schools go on a picnic to other countries. Meeting foreigners is not special thing. So is making friends with foreigners. Including me, every classmate gets in touch with foreigners as their friends. To keep this relationship going, we have to say, write, and listen in English. Now, we are all exposed to these situations naturally.