Thompson Deufel

English Fever Article Review

May 28, 2015
Through the reading of Jin-Kyu's article I learned that there are many flaws in the way that
English is currently being taught in foreign countries like Korea. With extreme practices being
taken in hopes of providing the best English education for students, the perception of the
importance of the language is being taken to unreasonably fictitious heights. Students are taken
out of their home school, and in many cases even their home country, all simply to teach them
English. This plants the idea that their country and native culture are somehow inferior to the
English language and the countries that speak it. Students are losing a cultural identity that often
times we are quick to take advantage of. One of the biggest takeaways I had for the article was
the awareness we must have in foreign language classrooms of the balance we must present of
both English and foreign languages. In this way we may find a way to teach English while
preserving the student's identities and culture.
Observing the teaching practices here at GHS has proved to be an intriguing insight into foreign
classrooms. Greg, a native English speaker, has great connections to his students and is able to
utilize his experience to overcome his lack of knowing the Korean language. The problem with
this is that there is a clear separation between himself and the other native Korean teachers at the
high school. He has described to us that he simply doesn't talk to them, and neither they to him.
Without knowing the language, there is an abyss between himself and the teachers that cannot be
crossed. This gap extends further to his students, and to an extent, limits his ability to teach
within the classroom. I have not yet discovered an adequate way to overcome this challenge,
other than perhaps for a complete learning of the native language, but I am hopeful there is a
practice that will bridge these foreign concepts together.