The Language Barrier

It's ridiculous how many Koreans speak English. The young ones, certainly. They are incredibly fluent. Everyone, though, seems to know a word or two that they can spit out when you're at an impasse. Actually having a conversation, though, is another matter altogether. In general, Koreans are an extremely self-conscious people, and are wildly reluctant to give their English a try.

My weekend with Terrie's family was a perfect microcosm of this phenomenon. Terrie herself is flat-out fluent. We talked of many things over the campfire, in a conversation not much different than I would have with any native speaker (in fact, more in-depth than with most). Like almost every Korean I've talked to, though, I initially underestimated her English. Koreans are always infinitely more skilled in the second conversation--the first time you talk with them, they're so nervous about using their English, they can't get anything out. My first week or two here, I was surprised that everyone's English was so rudimentary. Then I talked to them all again, and got a totally different impression. Written, even more so--the emails I get from my colleagues are virtually indistinguishable from ones I would get at home. I've heard over and over again that Koreans are taught to write English extremely well, but almost never to speak it, and my experience has been that that's absolutely true.

This gives rise to the second common occurrence, which I encountered with Terrie's husband--complete refusal to speak. I was surprised when he didn't even say hello when I met him, but began to get the drift when Terrie was flummoxed by his behavior. I guess he speaks English fine--apparently spent 2 weeks in the Ukraine doing just that--but has no desire to do so in front of someone who might call him out (not that I would). I think this accounts for another of my co-teachers as well--he greets me with a bow and a smile when he's on temperature duty at the school gates, but never, ever speaks to me at all. Terrie was obviously disappointed by the unexpected impasse on Saturday--as a foreigner (and a vegetarian one at that), I have to get used to being a walking hardship on everyone I meet--but her husband reassured her in Korean (she told me) that he understood our conversation fine, so that was all we could do.

Terrie's kids went in the other direction. Both were initially bashful, as kids frequently are, but once they warmed up, they were endearing little show-offs, spouting whatever English they could summon. We walked from the train station to the campground accompanied by a monologue of "I want a hamburger! I jump in the park! I jump in the bus! I want to be a rock! That is very hot!" and on and on. I'm not sure he ever spoke directly to me, but he polished off all the English he knows. The younger son, being only 5 and not having had any formal English education, was more limited in what he could do, but still had a few outbursts of "tree! apple! table!" It was cute. Kids often show none of the reticence of their parents, and I am frequently greeted on the street by children I have never seen before (all the more remarkable for the fact that greeting strangers is not really done in Korean culture). A girl of about 9 at the train station Saturday said hello to me, then came back repeatedly to converse, one sentence at a time. Talking with a foreigner seems to be a rite of passage for Korean kids, appearing regularly in "have you ever?" games and the like.

The kids at school seem to have warmed up to me all of a sudden, too. They've always greeted me enthusiastically in the hall--even the ones who glare at me for 45 minutes straight in class give me a cheery smile and hearty hello when I pass them on the stairs. Now, though, they appear to be bold enough to try conversation. Several have stopped by my desk in the last week (a new photo collage with cats and family doesn't hurt, either), and my favorite was one boy who flagged down the teachers I was walking back from lunch with and asked them to tell me he wanted to talk. I asked him some standard small talk questions, and, consulting in whispers with Mr. Kwon before each, he had some good questions for me. He wanted to know what was difficult about my job, and I told him sometimes the students don't listen. He asked Mr. Kwon to tell me that HE listens! These exchanges just make my day! I can't afford to give candy to all 600 of them for Halloween, but I'm thinking maybe I'll bring some to school and "pay off" anyone who comes by my desk for a chat.