Thursday, March 4, 2010

I've been saying this for years...

...but I'll have to see the changes, to believe them. Koreans study English for 10 years or so when they're young, solely to get a good score on their university entrance exam. They sometimes know these outrageous grammar rules that I don't even understand but can't tell me their name, in a complete sentence or reply with anything more than, "I'm fine, thank you and you?" when asked how they're doing.

And I've been saying for years that it's time for a change. Obviously, this is a complete waste of time and really doesn't prepare Korea to be an active player in the global economy where English in a necessity. Practical English. A speaking component to the test. A listening section, with real-life dialogues from native speakers. A bit on an essay writing section. Anything, basically to get away from the exclusively multiple choice tests that Koreans seem to love. And which, when learning a second language for any practical purpose are essentially useless.

Changes are perhaps in the pipeline. I hope someone will actually follow through.

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